White House official to corroborate diplomat’s version of Ukraine events: report

President Trump’s top Russia and Europe adviser on the National Security Council is reportedly expected next week to corroborate a top diplomat’s testimony that the Trump administration tied aid to Ukraine to the president’s request that Kiev investigate former Vice President Joe Biden.

Sources told CNN that Tim Morrison will testify before Congress that he did not see anything wrong with what the administration did but noted that there will be “nuance” to his testimony.

{mosads}Morrison is the first current White House official scheduled to testify as part of Democrats’ impeachment inquiry into Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. An attorney for Morrison said he intends to testify if he is subpoenaed, even if the White House seeks to block him.

“If subpoenaed, Mr. Morrison plans to appear for his deposition,” attorney Barbara Van Gelder said in a statement to The Hill.

She declined to provide a preview of what Morrison plans on telling investigators, though he is set to support testimony from William Taylor, who serves as the chargé d’affaires for Ukraine, according to CNN. Taylor laid out in detailed testimony this week that Trump decided to withhold roughly $400 million in financial aid until he secured a commitment from Ukraine that they would investigate Biden, one of his top political rivals.

The top Ukraine diplomat said Trump officials including personal attorney Rudy Giuliani; U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland; then-special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker; and Energy Secretary Rick Perry conducted a shadow foreign policy campaign push Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to produce a public statement about investigations into the 2016 presidential election and Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company that employed Biden’s son.

“During our call on September 8, Ambassador Sondland tried to explain to me that President Trump is a businessman. When a businessman is about to sign a check to someone who owes him something, he said, the businessman asks that person to pay up before singing the check,” Taylor told congressional investigators during his nearly 10-hour appearance behind closed doors. 

Morrison was mentioned 15 times in Taylor’s opening statement, including when he testified that Morrison described a “sinking feeling” from Trump saying there was no quid pro quo with Ukraine while he pushed Zelensky to investigate Biden. 

The House’s impeachment investigation was sparked last month after a whistleblower complaint and rough transcript regarding a July 25 call between Trump and Zelensky were made public. The memorandum of the call shows that Trump repeatedly pressured Zelensky to work with Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr to investigate Biden.

Morrison is known to have been on the July phone call. 

Trump has denied any wrongdoing, calling the July call with Zelensky “perfect,” and denying that the halted military aid was tied to his request.