White House aide backs up William Taylor's Trump-Ukraine quid pro quo testimony

Diplomat William Taylor's testimony had lawmakers on both sides of the aisle concerned.

Now, it's likely that concern over President Trump's dealings with Ukraine will only grow. That's because Taylor only testified that he'd heard of a suggested quid pro quo between Trump and Ukraine, and Timothy Morrison confirmed Thursday he'd also heard about it.

Morrison worked as an aide to the National Security Council until his abrupt Tuesday resignation, and he testified for the House's impeachment inquiry Thursday. He was on the call between Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and after it ended, "promptly asked the NSC legal adviser and his deputy to review it," per his opening statement. Morrison said his concerns about the Ukraine call revolved around a possible leak and how that would affect Congress and Ukrainian relations. "I was not concerned that anything illegal was discussed," he said.

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Morrison also corroborated how Taylor remembered a briefing the aide gave to him regarding EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland, saying "the substance of the statement, as it relates to conversations he and I had, is accurate." Taylor testified that he'd spoken with Sondland, who "told me that President Trump had told him that he wants President Zelensky to state publicly that Ukraine will investigate Burisma and alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election." "'Everything' was dependent on such an announcement, including security assistance,'" Taylor later said Sondland told him.