Ukraine's president was reportedly planning to announce an investigation into President Donald Trump's political rivals on CNN.
That's according to a report from The New York Times out Thursday. The outlet said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's staff arranged for him to make the announcement during a Sept. 13 interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria.
But the Trump administration's decision to unfreeze military aid to Ukraine made the interview unnecessary, so Zelenskyy's staff ended up canceling just days before his scheduled appearance.
As one analyst told the Times: "The [Zelenskyy] team was ready to make this [quid pro quo]. They were ready to do this."
President Trump has repeatedly argued he didn't withhold military aid in order to pressure Zelenskyy to open a probe into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.
But the Times' report, along with testimony from officials participating in the House impeachment investigation, seems to indicate otherwise.
Last month, Bill Taylor — the top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine — told lawmakers it was his "clear understanding" that military aid wouldn't be released to Ukraine until Zelenskyy "committed to pursue the investigation."
Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.
