This week, House Democrats’ formal impeachment inquiry reached new ground yet again with a Thursday full House vote formally authorizing procedures for continuing the probe. That’s not the only Thursday development, though — investigators also heard from the just recently resigned National Security Council official Tim Morrison, who replaced Fiona Hill as President Donald Trump’s top adviser on the panel covering Russia-related matters. According to CNN, Morrison told Congress that Hill advised him to “stay away” from the shadow foreign policy scheme being pushed by figures like personal Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani. What depth have we sunk to when the president’s personal lawyer sparks this kind of warning?
CNN explains that Morrison “told House impeachment investigators that he was advised by then-White House official Fiona Hill to stay away from the parallel Ukraine policy being pursued by Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, according to a source familiar with his Thursday testimony.”
That “parallel… policy” included a push for Ukraine to investigate the Bidens over baseless allegations of corruption and publicly announce that investigation — although Morrison differed slightly from earlier impeachment testimony in his description of the sought announcement. Top Ukraine diplomat Bill Taylor had insisted Trump wanted the Ukrainian president to personally announce the Biden investigation, but Morrison apparently said Trump would have taken the Ukrainian prosecutor general announcing a probe as sufficient — so it’s not that big of a difference. Overall, CNN noted on mid-Thursday afternoon, Morrison “has so far corroborated testimony” from Taylor.
Morrison did differ from the takes offered to Congress by figures including Taylor and National Security Council official Lt. Col Alexander Vindman, both of whom insisted that they found reason to be concerned about a July phone conversation in which Trump pushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the Biden probe. CNN explains that Morrison “made clear he saw nothing wrong with the July call, saying he was “not concerned” that “anything illegal” was discussed, according to one source.” He was apparently concerned about the political ramifications of details of the call leaking, however. That ship sailed.
Still, he differed on other points from the general consensus among those experienced in security and diplomacy as well. For instance, although both Vindman and apparently Hill, among others, alerted administration lawyers about the Ukraine scheme, Morrison did not.
As has occurred a number of times previously when dealing with witnesses connected to the administration, investigators have faced issues with Morrison’s legal counsel demanding he stay quiet about certain matters.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fl.) told reporters:
‘I just think the witness today had some difficulty in answering certain questions.’
All day Thursday, Trump was on Twitter shouting about how poorly he’s supposedly being treated.
The day before, he ranted on the site:
‘Republicans are very unified and energized in our fight on the Impeachment Hoax with the Do Nothing Democrats, and now are starting to go after the Substance even more than the very infair Process because just a casual reading of the Transcript leads EVERYBODY to see that the call with the Ukrainian President was a totally appropriate one.’
The problem is — that’s simply not true.
