WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Thursday released the following statement after a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) called the Trump administration’s hold on Ukraine aid illegal:

“The independent, non-partisan GAO finding confirms what we already knew: President Trump’s hold on Ukraine aid was illegal. The fact that the president decided to move forward, despite warnings from advisors, shows the scope of his abuse of power,” said Murphy. “This finding, combined with the revelations from Lev Parnas this week and every other piece of evidence uncovered by House investigators, highlight the critical need for the Senate to conduct a fair and comprehensive trial that hears from witnesses and gathers additional documents. Next week, every senator will have a chance to make that a reality.”

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