Trump conditioned assistance to Ukraine on investigation into Biden

Washington, Nov 1 (Prensa Latina) An official with the US administration said that President Donald Trump wanted to condition the country's military assistance to Ukraine on an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden, CNN reported.

According to the TV station, Tim Morrison, a senior advisor on Russia and Europe at the National Security Council (NSC), pointed out that he had been informed that the president wanted a top Ukrainian figure to announce the inquiry before releasing the assistance to that European country. Morrison testified on Thursday at closed doors before all three committees of the House of Representatives that lead the inquiry to impeach the Republican president, precisely for calling on Kiev to investigate one of its political rivals.

According to CNN, which quoted sources close to the investigation, Morrison also said that Fiona Hill, a former NSC analyst on Russia, advised him to remain detached from the parallel policy on Ukraine that was implemented by Trump's personal attorney, Rudi Giuliani.

The witness, who announced his resignation from his NSC post, said that he saw nothing wrong in the telephone conversation between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski in July, when the US head of State asked his counterpart to investigate Biden.

However, in his eight-hour-long testimony in the Capitol, Morrison stated that it worried him that the transcription of that conversation may be leaked and may have negative ramifications, and that he participated in the discussions on how to handle the text with the content of the call.