communications about your staff about how that came to be? i did not, no. you did learn about the pause in the security assistance aid. i learned that on july 18th the day before i left. there was several meetings about this, and i believe you testified to that? i said i knew there would be a meeting in that time frame and there was one put on the schedule for the following week, but of course i left so i didn t attend that. is it fair to say that it stops and starts in aid like this sometimes do happen. that s correct. and i believe you testified there was a freeze put on all kind of aid and assistance because it was in the process at that time, there were significant reviews of foreign assistance going on. that s also correct, yes. what else can you tell us about that? about the foreign assistance review? yeah. i understood there had been a districtive for a few review,
no. he attended some of the meetings that i presided over. years ago? yes. glenn simpson? no. dr. hill, in your testimony you said that, in your deposition, excuse me, that christopher steel was your counter part at one time, is this correct? yes. you testified that you met with anymore 2016 and i assume that is still correct? that is correct, yes. the only thing we didn t get on that is do you know about when that informs was in 2016? i m afraid i don t, you asked me about the most recent time that i met with him and he retired from the british
experience, one of the most remarkable events of my life. you said after the call happens, i immediately told deputy chief and others at the embassy about the call and then you went on vacation and told several friends and family about the call. then come back on april 6th and tell ambassador taylor about the call and then in your deposition statement you said in your statement today, as well. i repeatedly recall to the president s interest in ukraine was relevant. i repeatedly referred to the call in meetings and conversations where the issue of the president s interests in ukraine was relevant. that sounds like government speak for, you told everybody. yet, their star witness, their first witness ambassador taylor when he came here he related 13 conversations he had between july 13th and september 11th when it s released and never once mentioning this call. july 19th. dr. hill then told taylor what sondland told them. sondland told taylor about the upcoming call.
who is trying to set up meetings on behalf of to ensure really that meeting os cured and phone calls occurred to strengthen the relationship, i m a little i understand the people at the nsc, the people at the state department, i understand this they had issues with that, but isn t it the commander and chief that is to make those decisions? my point is that we at the national security counstcil wer not told that we were to be focused on these issues. so when you re talking about ukraine in 2016, i never personally heard the president say anything specific about 2016 and ukraine. i heard him say plenty of things publ publicly but i was not given a director. i was told by ambassador bolton to stay out of domestic politics. for the sake of the time
that in more detail? i related what i had heard, there was a sequence books ing meetings, and i know there has been some questions about the sequencing here. and what happened immediately after the meeting was that he terned me to hold back in the room. and he was escorting out the ukrainian and ambassadors and i guess they wanted a his office and secretary perry and others tweeted out that photograph on a beautiful, sunny day and a picture of them standing outside ambassador bolton s office. this was very quick he came back in and at that point they were already moving down because on