Top White House Russia expert to resign ahead of impeachment testimony
Tim Morrison, the top White House Russia expert and key witness of President Trump's July phone call with Ukraine, is expected to leave his post in the administration. NPR reported Wednesday evening that Morrison, the National Security Council's Russia and Europe director, is expected to make his exit "immediately." "After more than a year of service at the National Security Council, Mr. Morrison has decided to pursue other opportunities — and has been considering doing so for some time. We wish him well," a senior administration official told Politico on the eve of his impeachment testimony.
Morrison is scheduled to testify in the House on Thursday as part of the House Democrats' impeachment proceedings against Trump. Andrew Peek, a deputy assistant secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, is expected to fill Morrison’s place on the NSC. Morrison’s testimony will come days after Alexander Vindman, the NSC's Ukraine expert, testified to Congress that he had suggested several edits to a transcript of a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Vindman had suggested the edits to Morrison, who accepted some but "omitted crucial words and phrases" from parts of the transcript, Vindman testified.
