Morrison testimony

Tim Morrison, the top Russia and Europe adviser on President Trump’s National Security Council, on Thursday corroborated the testimony of a senior U.S. diplomat who last week offered House impeachment investigators the most detailed account to date for how Trump tried to use his office to pressure Ukraine to investigate former vice president Joe Biden, according to people familiar with his deposition.

Morrison told impeachment investigators that the account offered by William B. Taylor Jr., the acting ambassador to Ukraine, is accurate. He said that he alerted Taylor to a push by Trump and his deputies to withhold both security aid and a White House visit for the Ukrainian president until Ukraine agreed to investigate the Bidens and interference in the 2016 presidential election.

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Morrison, who told colleagues Wednesday that he plans to leave the Trump administration, said he did not necessarily view the president’s demands as improper or illegal, but rather problematic for U.S. policy in supporting an ally in the region.

  WaPo

Morrison can thread a needle.

Morrison’s testimony was sought because of his proximity to critical White House decisions and recurring presence in testimony from previous U.S. officials. House investigators have also requested testimony from Morrison’s boss, former national security adviser John Bolton.

Morrison corroborated that he spoke with Taylor at least twice in early September. The first conversation was to alert him that Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, had told the Ukrainians that no U.S. aid would be forthcoming until they announced an investigation of Burisma

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Morrison also told lawmakers that he spoke with Taylor again on Sept. 7 to share a “sinking feeling” about a worrisome conversation between Trump and Sondland, the person said. Morrison said that, during that conversation, Trump said he wasn’t seeking a “quid pro quo” but went on to insist that Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky had to publicly announce that he was opening investigations of Biden and 2016 election interference.

I wonder what Trump's definition of quid pro quo is.

Morrison has been brief with lawmakers about why he is leaving the White House and appears uncomfortable answering those questions, said people familiar with his testimony.

I bet.

He was picked by Bolton, though, and Bolton is gone. I don't imagine Trump wanted Morrison around any longer.

He is a staunch foe of nuclear nonproliferation advocates.

[...]

During his tenure, Morrison oversaw the U.S. withdrawal from the Reagan-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and continued to look for ways the United States could pull out of other nuclear accords.

This summer, Morrison urged Republican offices not to support an amendment to a defense authorization bill encouraging the administration to extend a landmark nuclear arms-reduction treaty known as New START, which will expire in February 2021.

So, good riddance to Bolton and Morrison.

UPDATE: