conclude that the president violated the empowerment control act of 1974 which congress passed as a response to president nixon's abuse of power. so i'd like to explore that a little further with you mr. goldman. in this case. congress with bipartisan support had appropriated taxpayer funds for the specific purpose of aiding ukraine and the war against russia, is that right? >> yes. >> and not only had that money been appropriated, the money had been released to the department of defense, is that right? >> they were about to release it, yes. >> and then suddenly without explanation the president demanded the taxpayer funds be withheld from an ally who desperately needed the aid. >> right. >> mr. goldman, did the president notify congress about liz decision to withhold aid. >> no, he did not. >> and so the empowerment control act was designed to prevent the president from taking congressionally appropriated funds and doing whatever he wants with them. so is it true that in your intelligence report you found the following in your findings of fact, president trump ordered