This archive report was first published on 24 September 2019.
On September 24, 2019, President Trump addressed reporters at the United Nations General Assembly, where he was set to deliver a speech focused on Iran amidst a crisis in the Persian Gulf.
Trump claimed that he had delayed $391 million in aid to Ukraine because European countries had not paid their fair share to support the country's defense against Russian-backed separatists in the east.
He pointed to the fact that the funds were eventually released as evidence that he had done nothing wrong, despite the delay becoming public through news media leaks and under bipartisan pressure from Congress.
Trump also suggested that a transcript of his July 25 phone call with Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, would become public and exonerate him, saying, 'When you see the call, when you see the readout of the call, which I assume you'll see at some point, you'll understand that call was perfect.'
The aid package in question was provided to Ukraine for its defense against a Russian-backed separatist insurgency in its east, which has left over 13,000 people dead in the past five years.
