Introduction

The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates betrayals of public trust. Sign up to receive our stories.

Update Feb. 24: On Jan. 3, we sent an open letter to the Department of Justice asking for the release of emails related to President Donald Trump’s decision to withhold military aid from Ukraine, an issue at the heart of his impeachment trial. 

Almost 800 readers signed this letter. We are so grateful for this support of our work using the power of the Freedom of Information Act to try to force the administration to release unredacted emails between the Office of Management & Budget and the Department of Defense. 

Our FOIA request has been key to obtaining information on one of Trump’s  most controversial decisions. We know that the fight didn’t end with the president’s acquittal.

The truth matters. People should know about an unfolding chapter in our democracy that is destined for the history books.

The public’s right to know the contents of emails between the Department of Defense and the Office of Management and Budget about the holdup of military aid to Ukraine last year is a matter of national urgency. This week, the website Just Security published passages of the unredacted emails, the very ones the Center for Public Integrity has been seeking in court. We are still seeking them, but we are also calling on the Defense Department and OMB to release these emails so the American people and our lawmakers can read for themselves how the administration handled an issue at the center of President Donald Trump’s impeachment.