First White House official plans to testify in impeachment inquiry, if subpoenaed
Tim Morrison, a national security council official who has been identified as a key witness in the impeachment inquiry, plans to testify on Capitol Hill Thursday, if subpoenaed, CBS News White House correspondent Paula Reid reports. Morrison would be the first current White House official to testify in House Democrats' impeachment inquiry.
"If subpoenaed, Mr. Morrison plans to appear for his deposition," Morrison's lawyer, Barbara Van Gelder, told CBS News. "We will not be commenting on what he will say to the committees."
Morrison is the top adviser to the president on matters related to Russia and Europe. Earlier this week, top Democrats on the committees leading the impeachment inquiry asked Morrison to testify, although as of Friday morning, he had not received a subpoena.
Morrison's agreement to testify if subpoenaed is significant, given that White House counsel has told top Democrats on Capitol Hill the administration will not have any current officials testify in the impeachment inquiry into Mr. Trump.
Morrison is believed to have knowledge of the July 25 phone call between Mr. Trump and Ukraine's president that initiated Democrats' impeachment inquiry into the president.
Bill Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine who testified in a closed-door deposition earlier this week, mentioned Morrison in his testimony. According to Taylor, Morrison relayed that Gordon Sondland, the ambassador to the U.K., told a top Ukrainian official "security assistance money would not come until President Zelensky committed to pursue the Burisma investigation."