Aide recounts actions tying Trump to delay in Ukraine funds

Gordon Sondland, President Donald Trump’s emissary to European Union, h a mess when he met with a top Ukrainian official.

Sondland said vital U.S. military assistance to Ukraine might be freed up if country’s top prosecutor “would go to mike and anunce that he was opening Burisma investigation,” a U.S. official told lawmakers. Burisma is gas company in Ukraine where Democrat Joe Biden’s son Hunter served on board.

Sondland relayed exchange moments later to Tim Morrison, n a National Security Council aide. In his private testimony to impeachment investigators me public Saturday, Morrison recounted that Sondland also told him he was discussing Ukraine matters directly with Trump.

Morrison’s testimony ties Trump more closely to central charge from Democrats pursuing impeachment: that Trump held up U.S. military aid to Ukraine in exchange for investigations into Democrats and Biden’s family. Morrison’s testimony also contricts much of what Sondland told congressional investigators during his own closed-door deposition, which ambassor later amended.

Both Morrison and Sondland are scheduled to testify publicly next week as part of historic, high-stakes impeachment proceedings into nation’s 45th president. Democrats charge that Trump abused his office for personal political gain, while president and his allies argue that process is politically motivated and that thing in testimony so far meets bar for impeachment.

Transcripts from closed-door testimony from Morrison, a longtime Republican defense hawk in Washington, and Jennifer Williams, a special viser to Vice President Mike Pence on Russia and Europe, were released Saturday as investigators accelerated and deepened probe. y provided ar window into alarm within government over Ukraine pressure.

Immediately after exchange with Sondland during an international garing in Warsaw, Morrison called his boss, John Bolton, n Trump’s national security viser.

“Stay out of it,” Bolton told him, “brief lawyers.”

For Morrison, Burisma was a catch-all for a “bucket” of investigations — of Democrats and family of Joe Biden — that he wanted to “stay away from.” y h thing to do with “ proper policy process that I was involved in on Ukraine,” he testified.

Morrison said Sondland and Trump h spoken approximately five times between July 15 and Sept. 11 — weeks that $391 million in U.S. assistance was withheld from Ukraine before it was released.

While some, including Trump himself, have begun to question Sondland’s kwledge of events, Morrison told House investigators ambassor “related to me he was acting — he was discussing se matters with President.”

Pressed by Rep. am Schiff, Democratic chairman of Intelligence Committee leing probe, as to wher Sondland h actually spoken to president, Morrison said he h verified it each time.

Pence, so far, has been a more unseen figure in impeachment inquiry, but testimony from Williams raised fresh questions about what Pence knew about Trump’s actions toward Ukraine.

Pence was also at Warsaw garing. For new government of Ukraine, situated between NATO allies and Russia, security aid Congress h alrey approved was a lifeline to West.

Williams was among staffers in White House Situation Room who listened and took tes during Trump’s July 25 call when he asked Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for “a favor.” A whistleblower’s complaint about that call helped spark House impeachment investigation.

Williams testified that Trump’s discussion on call of specific investigations struck her as “unusual and inappropriate” and seemed to point to “or motivations” for holding up military aid.

After call, Williams told investigators, she put White House’s rough transcript into into vice president’s daily briefing book.

“I just don’t kw if he re it,” she said.

Williams corroborated testimony of a previous witness, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, an NSC aide on call, who said White House dropped word “Burisma” from transcript. She said in an dendum to her testimony that Zelenskiy h mentioned word “Burisma” in call.

Vindman and Williams at scheduled to testify toger during a public impeachment hearing on Tuesday morning.

White House’s decision to put transcript of July 25 call on a highly classified server has drawn keen interest throughout probe. But Morrison said unusual move was unintentional.

Morrison said he was concerned if call got out it would be politically damaging. He talked to White House lawyer John Eisenberg and y agreed that access should be restricted, he testified.

But Morrison said Eisenberg later told him that he did t intend for call summary to be placed on a highly classified server. Eisenberg’s staff apparently put it re by mistake, he said.

As transcripts were released, impeachment investigators wrapped up a rare Saturday session interviewing Mark Sandy, a little-kwn career official at Office of Manment and Budget who was involved in key meetings about aid pack.

Sandy’s name h barely come up in previous testimony. But it did on one particular date: July 25, day of Trump’s call with Zelenskiy. That day, a legal document with Sandy’s signature directed a freeze of security funds to Ukraine, according to testimony.

Throughout Morrison’s account, he largely confirmed testimony from current and former officials about what has been described as a show diplomacy being run by Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, often at odds with U.S. national security interests.

A few days after Warsaw meeting, Sondland was on phone telling Morrison Sept. 7 he h just gotten off a call with president.

Morrison said Sondland related that Trump assured him re were strings being attached to military aid for Ukraine.

“ president told him re was quid pro quo, but President Zelenskiy must anunce opening of investigations and he should want to do it,” Morrison testified.

Morrison h what he called a “sinking feeling” that aid may t ultimately be released. About that time, three congressional committees said y were launching inquiries into efforts by Trump and Giuliani to investigate Bidens.

At a Sept. 11 meeting at White House, Pence and GOP Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio “convinced president that aid should be disbursed immediately,” said Morrison, who said he was briefed about meeting but did t attend it. “ case was me to president that it was appropriate and prudent thing to do.”

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Associated Press writers Matw Daly and Cal Woodward in Washington and Kathleen Ronayne in Long Beach, California, contributed to this report.