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Bolton willing to testify in impeachment trial if subpoenaed Bolton willing to testify in impeachment trial if subpoenaed
(about 4 hours later)
WASHINGTON — Former White House national security adviser John Bolton said Monday that he is “prepared to testify” if he is subpoenaed by the Senate in its impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, a surprise statement that bolstered Democrats in their push for new witnesses. WASHINGTON — Former White House national security adviser John Bolton said he is “prepared to testify” if he is subpoenaed by the Senate in its impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, a surprise statement that bolstered Democrats in their push for new witnesses.
Bolton, who left the White House in September, said that he has weighed the issues of executive privilege and that after “careful consideration and study” decided that he would comply with any Senate subpoena. Bolton, who left the White House in September, said Monday that he has weighed the issues of executive privilege and after “careful consideration and study” decided that he would comply with any Senate subpoena.
“If the Senate issues a subpoena for my testimony, I am prepared to testify,” he said in a statement. “If the Senate issues a subpoena for my testimony, I am prepared to testify,” he said.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has publicly expressed resistance to calling new witnesses in the upcoming trial, though Democrats are pressing to hear from Bolton and others who did not appear before the House in its impeachment inquiry. If Bolton were to appear, he could provide a first-hand account of events central to the impeachment case against the president. As a senior adviser, he was present for key moments that were investigated in the House’s impeachment inquiry, including meetings with Ukrainian officials.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has stalled the transmission of House-passed articles of impeachment against Trump in a bid for that witness testimony. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has proposed calling several witnesses, including Bolton and Mulvaney, but McConnell has so far rejected Schumer’s terms. His willingness to comply with a subpoena could complicate the strategy of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has expressed resistance to calling new witnesses. Bolton left a message for McConnell before he issued his statement on Monday morning, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because he or she wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.
It is uncertain when Pelosi will eventually send the articles to the Senate. If she decides to do so in the coming days, a trial could start as soon as this week. McConnell has called for a swift impeachment trial, with a possible final vote after opening arguments. He has repeatedly referred to President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, when leaders decided how to proceed after the trial had started. In that case, witnesses gave closed-door depositions and some excerpts of those interviews were played on the Senate floor.
In a tweet Monday, Pelosi did not address the timing. But she said Trump and McConnell have “run out of excuses” for not calling witnesses or producing documents Trump has blocked. “The Senate has a unanimous bipartisan precedent for when to handle mid-trial questions such as witnesses — in the middle of the trial,” McConnell said as he opened the Senate on Monday.
It’s unclear whether Bolton’s testimony would hurt or help the president. The two clashed while he was in the White House and offered differing versions of whether he resigned or was fired when he left office in September. First, though, the Senate must receive the articles of impeachment. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has stalled the transmission of House-passed articles against Trump in a bid for the witness testimony that Democrats are seeking.
If Bolton were to appear, his testimony would give Congress and the public a highly anticipated, first-hand account from a Trump senior adviser who was present for key moments that have been described by others. Pelosi did not provide any clues about her next steps Monday. But in a tweet she said Trump and McConnell have “run out of excuses” for not calling witnesses or producing documents that Trump has blocked.
He’d almost certainly be asked, for instance, about a comment he was reported to have made to another White House adviser that he did not want to be “part of whatever drug deal” European Union ambassador Gordon Sondland and White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney were “cooking up” as Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate Democrats. Trump told Rush Limbaugh on his radio show that the whole process is “sad for our country” and suggested that Pelosi doesn’t want a trial.
“She doesn’t want to get a vote because how could anybody possibly — it’s totally partisan,” Trump said.
Bolton’s testimony would inject an element of unpredictability to an impeachment trial that is widely expected to end with Trump’s acquittal. He clashed with Trump while working at the White House, and the two men offered differing versions of whether he resigned or was fired when he left office.
Should he testify, Bolton would almost certainly be asked about a comment he is said to have made that he did not want to be “part of whatever drug deal” European Union Ambassador Gordon Sondland and White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney were “cooking up” as Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate Democrats.
That pressure, as Trump was withholding security aid to Ukraine, was at the heart of the inquiry in the House, which voted to impeach Trump on Dec. 18.That pressure, as Trump was withholding security aid to Ukraine, was at the heart of the inquiry in the House, which voted to impeach Trump on Dec. 18.
Schumer said in a statement after Bolton’s announcement that “momentum for uncovering the truth in a Senate trial continues.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement after Bolton’s announcement that “momentum for uncovering the truth in a Senate trial continues.”
He said that it is “now up to four Senate Republicans to support bringing in Mr. Bolton” and the other witnesses he has proposed. Republicans hold the Senate with a 53-seat majority, and Democrats would have to find four Republicans to vote with them to support a subpoena. Schumer said that it is “now up to four Senate Republicans to support bringing in Mr. Bolton” and the other witnesses he has proposed, including Mulvaney. Republicans hold the Senate with a 53-seat majority, and Democrats would have to find four Republicans to vote with them to issue a subpoena.
If any Republican opposes the subpoenas Democrats have proposed, Schumer said, “they would make absolutely clear they are participating in a cover up.” If Republicans oppose the subpoenas Democrats have proposed, Schumer said, “they would make absolutely clear they are participating in a cover up.”
McConnell has repeatedly called for a swift trial, with a possible final vote after opening arguments. At least one Senate Republican was ready to hear from Bolton. “He has first-hand information,” Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah., told reporters. “Assuming that the articles of impeachment reach the Senate, I’d like to hear what he has to say.”
“We can’t hold a trial without the articles,” McConnell tweeted in the hours before Bolton’s statement. “The Senate’s own rules don’t provide for that. So, for now, we are content to continue the ordinary business of the Senate while House Democrats continue to flounder. For now.” Other Republicans downplayed the possibility of calling Bolton at the trial. “Call me a skeptic that there’s anything he would add,” said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, a member of Republican leadership,
Bolton’s willingness to testify averts a potential legal standoff over whether close aides to the president can be forced to appear before Congress. Trump and his lawyers have claimed that those aides should not have to testify, arguing that they have special immunity, or executive privilege, not to. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio tweeted that the Senate should not move beyond the evidence collected in the House inquiry — a process that McConnell has called the “least thorough” in history.
The issue remains undecided in the courts now that a federal judge dismissed last week a lawsuit from Bolton’s former deputy, Charles Kupperman, who had asked the court whether he had to comply with a House subpoena or follow a White House orders that he not testify. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon dismissed the case as moot, noting that the House had withdrawn its subpoena for Kupperman and had said that it didn’t plan to reissue one. “Our job is to vote on what the House passed, not to conduct an open ended inquiry,” Rubio tweeted.
The case had been closely watched for the repercussions it carried for Bolton’s testimony. And another Republican, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, introduced legislation Monday to change Senate rules to allow the dismissal of articles of impeachment if they aren’t transmitted to the Senate.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff signaled in a tweet that he will not call Bolton again in the House, writing that “the Senate must allow testimony from him, Mulvaney and others.” “I don’t know why we would” hear from Bolton, Hawley said, “but let’s start the trial.”
Schiff had invited Bolton to testify in the inquiry but had not subpoenaed him, saying he didn’t want the impeachment case to languish in courts. Instead, the House voted to impeach Trump for obstruction of Congress. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., signaled in a tweet that he will not call Bolton again in the House, writing that “the Senate must allow testimony from him, Mulvaney and others.”
Schiff had invited Bolton to testify in the inquiry but did not subpoena him, saying he didn’t want the impeachment case to languish in the courts. Instead, the House voted to impeach Trump for obstruction of Congress.
Bolton late last year teased that he would have more to say about Ukraine, tweeting that people should “stay tuned.”
The Associated Press reported in November that Bolton is writing a book and has a deal with the publisher Simon & Schuster, according to three publishing officials with knowledge of the situation. Two said the deal was worth $2 million. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.The Associated Press reported in November that Bolton is writing a book and has a deal with the publisher Simon & Schuster, according to three publishing officials with knowledge of the situation. Two said the deal was worth $2 million. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.
Trump tweeted Monday morning that the impeachment “hoax” must “end quickly.”Trump tweeted Monday morning that the impeachment “hoax” must “end quickly.”
“It is a con game by the Dems to help with the Election!,” Trump tweeted.“It is a con game by the Dems to help with the Election!,” Trump tweeted.
Two-thirds of the Senate — or 67 votes — would be needed to convict Trump of an impeachment charge and remove him from office.
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Associated Press Writer Hillel Italie contributed to this report from New York. Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman in Washington and Hillel Italie in New York contributed to this report.
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.