White House official expected to back up diplomat's testimony over Trump push for Ukraine probe into

Source: CNN

(CNN)Tim Morrison, a top Russia and Europe adviser on President Donald Trump's National Security Council, is expected to testify before House impeachment investigators next week and corroborate key elements of a top US diplomat's account that Trump was pressing for Ukraine to publicly announce investigations into the Bidens before he would greenlight US security assistance, according to sources. Bill Taylor, the top US diplomat in Ukraine, said in extraordinary testimony on Tuesday that Trump pushed for Ukraine to publicly announce investigations, including one into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, using as leverage the military aid the country sought to fight back against Russian aggression.

Morrison's testimony is expected to be significant because he is a current White House official whose name was cited 15 times in Taylor's opening statement, which Democrats view as damning for Trump. Morrison also listened to the July 25 call between Trump and the Ukrainian leader, CNN reported earlier this month. His testimony would be the first from someone who heard the call directly. A transcript of the call was released by the White House but was not a full verbatim. But two sources also tell CNN that Morrison will contend that he didn't see anything wrong with what the Trump administration did, while one of the sources said there will be "nuance" over what Morrison intends to say.

Morrison, whose notes are expected to form the basis of his testimony, has told associates he wants to cooperate with the probe -- even though the White House has railed against an inquiry it has contended is "illegitimate." Nevertheless, Republicans in the White House and in Congress are worried that Morrison could provide testimony that will fuel the Democrats' impeachment push, according to sources familiar with the matter. The GOP is hoping that Morrison's testimony will lack firsthand knowledge of the President's actions, but it's unclear yet what the White House official will say.

Morrison's attorney told CNN that it was premature to discuss her client's testimony since he hasn't decided what he's going to say. "We haven't decided what he's going to say yet," Barbara Van Gelder, an attorney for Morrison, said Thursday. "He's going to answer questions. That's where we're at right now. We haven't made final decisions on anything other than he'll appear with the subpoena." Asked if that meant he would definitely appear next week, Van Gelder said: "Currently, yes."

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/24/politics/white-house-official-impeachment-inquiry-testimony/index.html