Donald Trump's top national security aide on Russia and Europe testified Thursday that he was concerned the July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would leak and result in "adverse ramifications," according to CNN. Tim Morrison, who was part of Trump's National Security Council (NSC) and resigned on Wednesday, said he also participated in post-call conversations concerning what to do with the transcript.
Some of those discussions surely involved NSC counsel John Eisenberg, who fielded multiple complaints about the call and suggested breaking with protocol by moving the transcript onto a super secret server usually reserved for highly sensitive information. "Scribbling notes on a yellow legal pad, Eisenberg proposed a step that other officials have said is at odds with long-standing White House protocol: moving a transcript of the call to a highly classified server and restricting access to it," the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
In his prepared remarks to House investigators, Morrison said he did not believe Trump’s actions were criminal in nature. “I want to be clear, I was not concerned that anything illegal was discussed,” he asserted, according to the Daily Beast. But the Beast also writes: "Morrison directed that the transcript of it be put on a secret White House server." Whether Morrison ordered that move or Eisenberg did, or they did so in concert with each other, they clearly understood the call was problematic and took steps to limit how many people would have access to it.
Morrison reportedly concluded his opening remarks by noting that, ultimately, the security aid flowed to Ukraine—an unvarnished White House talking point. “I am pleased our process gave the president the confidence he needed to approve the release of the security sector assistance,” he said. “My regret is that Ukraine ever learned of the review and that, with this impeachment inquiry, Ukraine has become subsumed in the U.S. political process.”
As one might expect, Republicans were eager to suggest that Morrison's testimony somehow complicates the case that Trump committed impeachable offenses. GOP Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, a staunch Trump ally, told reporters it was "very damaging to the Democrats' narrative."
But Morrison reportedly declined to answer some questions at the direction of his lawyer, who apparently tangled with House Intelligence Committee attorneys over which questions he could answer.
More information is sure to be reported about Morrison's testimony. It's important to keep in mind that he has a lot of personal skin in the game and an incentive to downplay whether he viewed Trump's actions as illegal since he ultimately participated in a process designed to cover up the July 25 call between Trump and Zelensky. In other words, Morrison himself has legal exposure and his testimony should be viewed in that light.