Current Trump official signals he plans to testify — even if the president tries to block him

President Donald Trump has thus far attempted to frustrate the impeachment proceedings against him — and indeed, almost all investigations against him over the last few years — by asserting executive privilege or other legal doctrines to block his own officials from giving testimony. At times, even people who have never worked in the White House were recalled under executive privilege.

But according to Politico, one potentially massive upcoming witness in the impeachment inquiry is prepared to defy the president if he moves to block his testimony.

Tim Morrison, a senior national security official who has advised the administration on European and Russian affairs, is scheduled to testify next Thursday, and his attorney, Barbara Van Gelder, has said, "If subpoenaed, Mr. Morrison plans to appear for his deposition" — a clear signal that they believe any command by Trump not to appear would not outweigh a House subpoena.

This would make Morrison the first currently-sitting White House official to testify before the House committees in the impeachment investigation, as others have refused to appear.

Morrison is allegedly a witness to one of the most explosive allegations in the Ukraine scandal — the conversation in which EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland told a high-ranking government official in Ukraine that military aid was contingent on opening political investigations. Ukraine special envoy William Taylor told the House Intelligence Committee in his testimony that his knowledge of that conversation was second-hand, from talking to Morrison.