Top national security adviser testifies

White House adviser Tim Morrison, the top Russia and Europe adviser on Trump’s National Security Council, told House investigators over eight hours of closed-door testimony that the “substance” of his conversations recalled by Bill Taylor, the acting ambassador to Ukraine, was “accurate,” according to his prepared remarks and people familiar with Morrison’s testimony.

In particular, Morrison verified that Trump’s envoy to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, conveyed to a Ukrainian official that the military aid would be released if the country investigated an energy firm linked to the son of former vice president Joe Biden. Morrison, who announced his resignation the night before his testimony, said he did not necessarily view the president’s demands as illegal, but rather problematic for U.S. policy in supporting an ally in the region.

Morrison corroborated that he spoke with Taylor at least twice in early September. The first conversation was to alert him that Sondland had told the Ukrainians that no U.S. aid would be forthcoming until they announced an investigation of Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company that had hired Biden’s son Hunter, a person familiar with Morrison’s testimony said.

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