“We’re in the process of collecting the details of how that process took place within the budget bureaucracy,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who attended Sandy’s deposition. “And I expect before all the evidence is in, we will find out that there was political influence used to hold that money back. And it comes from the White House.”

“This is a technical part of our investigation,” added Raskin, a member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. “We want to know exactly how the president translated his political objective to shake down the Ukrainian government for the favors he wanted, translated into the budget process.”

Republicans had a completely different view of Sandy’s deposition, noting that lawmakers were not permitted to speak about the specifics of the testimony. They demanded that the transcript of Sandy’s deposition be released before the next public impeachment hearing on Tuesday.

“Throughout this entire impeachment hearing, the Democrats have been suggesting that there is some nefarious purpose as it relates to the hold on aid,” said Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), a top Trump ally. “And yet we heard today, behind closed doors, in general terms, that the assumptions that Democrats have made, and certainly the allegations that they have made, have not been supported by the witness’ testimony here today.”

Officials who have already appeared before investigators — including Laura Cooper, who oversees Russia and Ukraine policy at the Pentagon — have testified that a senior OMB official announced the hold on aid during a secure video conference on July 18, setting off a scramble within the State Department, Pentagon, National Security Council and Joint Chiefs of Staff as officials sought to learn why the hold had been placed.

All of those departments and agencies had already signed off on the military aid, with OMB as the lone exception, outraging national security officials who argued the security assistance was critical to protect U.S. interests in the region and to help Ukraine fend off Russian aggression to its east.

David Holmes, the political counsel at the U.S. embassy in Kyiv who was on the July 18 video conference, told investigators late Friday that NSC officials “could not determine the cause of the hold or how to lift it.” Holmes and Cooper, among other witnesses who were present, testified that the OMB official said acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney had placed the hold and that it had been ordered by the president.

Top administration officials from across the government were alarmed at the hold on military aid and sought to answer key questions that have stumped lawmakers, including what justification was given for the hold and how the order was implemented.

The House Intelligence Committee issued a subpoena to Sandy, according to an official working on the impeachment inquiry, citing “an attempt by OMB to direct [him] not to appear for his scheduled deposition.”