The N.Y. Times' Maggie Haberman once called longtime aide Keith Schiller "the ultimate emotional binky for Trump."

Why it matters: Schiller's closed-door testimony to the House Intelligence Committee yesterday was one of the most vivid signs yet of how deeply the Russia investigations are penetrating the president's inner circle.

The details:

• Schiller was Trump's bodyguard in New York and became White House director of Oval Office operations, but left in September.
• Per CNN, Schiller yesterday denied "the salacious claims about Trump's 2013 trip to Moscow that appeared in the opposition research Russia dossier about Trump."
• "Schiller ... [told] lawmakers repeatedly that he could not recall or was not aware a number of potential Russia connections with Trump associates."
• Why he matters, from Politico's Annie Karni: "When friends and advisers outside the West Wing wanted to share a news article, gossip or advice with ... Trump, they would be advised to 'send it to Keith, he'll get it to me.'"
• Schiller knows "how to manage the president's moods, his diet, what triggers him and what soothes him."