National Security official: Nothing improper about Trump call

WASHINGTON A former top national security official testified Thursday in the House impeachment inquiry that he saw nothing illegal in President Donald Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian president that is at the center of the Democrat-led investigation.

Tim Morrison, who stepped down from the National Security Council the day before his appearance, is the first White House political appointee to testify and could be central to Democrats’ effort to overturn the 2016 election and remove Trump from office.

“I want to be clear, I was not concerned that anything illegal was discussed,” said Morrison, who said he was concerned about how the call might look if it were made public.

As a national security adviser, Morrison was among those listening to Trump’s call with the Ukrainian leader.

Some saw the remarks of as shifting the debate favorably toward Trump.

They said Morrison’s opening statement contradicted another key witness, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the Army officer who handled Ukraine issues at the National Security Council. Vindman testified Tuesday that was alarmed over the call.

“It’s a very compelling witness today that is giving testimony that contradicts some of the testimony we heard from Mr. Vindman,” said Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C. Morrison’s opening remarks were not publicly released.

Morrison’s testimony “is very damaging to the Democrat narrative,” Meadows said. “They’ve all of a sudden gotten quiet today because this particular witness is very credible and has given evidence that suggests some of the other witnesses have been less than candid.”

Another Republican, Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, said, “When you all see what he had to say, it will be interesting.”

Morrison was the National Security Council’s top adviser for Russian and European affairs until he stepped down Wednesday. A senior administration official said he had “decided to pursue other opportunities.” The official, who was not authorized to discuss Morrison’s job and spoke only on the condition of anonymity, said Morrison has been considering leaving the administration for “some time.”

Morrison was expected to be asked to explain the “sinking feeling” that he reportedly got when Trump asked that Ukraine’s president investigate interference in the 2016 election. The national security hawk, brought on board by then-national security adviser John Bolton, has been featured prominently in previous testimony from diplomat Taylor.

It was Morrison who first alerted Taylor to concerns over Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Morrison and Taylor spoke at least five times in the weeks following the July phone call as the defense expert and the diplomat discussed the Trump administration’s actions toward Ukraine, according to Taylor’s testimony.

Morrison was brought on board to address arms control matters and later shifted into a role as a top Russia and Europe adviser. It was then that he stepped into the thick of an in-house squabble about the activities of Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, who had been conversing with Ukrainian leaders outside of traditional U.S. diplomatic circles.

Morrison told people after Bolton was forced out of his job that the national security adviser had tried to stop Giuliani’s diplomatic dealings with Ukraine and that Morrison agreed, according to a U.S. official, who was not authorized to discuss Morrison’s role in the impeachment inquiry and spoke only on the condition of anonymity. The official said Morrison told people that with the appointment of Robert O’Brien as Bolton’s successor, his own future work at the NSC was in a “holding pattern.”