A reported “bombshell” from former national security adviser John Bolton has thrown yet another twist in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
The timing of the reveal has raised eyebrows across D.C. and defenders of the president were sent scrambling over the weekend to dismiss the new claims. The White House has framed the reveal as a shallow attempt to sell Bolton’s upcoming tell-all book.
They may be right.
On Sunday, a draft of Bolton’s upcoming book was leaked by The New York Times, in which the former White House insider appears to undercut a key defense argument — that Trump never tied withholding of aid to Ukraine to a demand the country investigate rival Joe Biden.
Bolton writes in the forthcoming book that Trump told him that he wanted to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in security aid from Ukraine until it helped him with investigations into Biden.
Trump’s legal team has repeatedly insisted otherwise.
On Monday, a person familiar with the case said the White House has had Bolton’s manuscript for at least a month, and has challenged his use of certain material it considers classified.
The account immediately gave Democrats new fuel in their pursuit of sworn testimony from Bolton and other witnesses, a question expected to be taken up later this week by the Republican-led Senate. The trial resumes Monday afternoon with arguments from Trump’s defense team.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who led the House impeachment inquiry, called Bolton’s account a test for the senators sitting as jurors in Trump’s impeachment trial.
“I don’t know how you can explain that you wanted a search for the truth in this trial and say you don’t want to hear from a witness who had a direct conversation about the central allegation in the articles of impeachment,” Schiff said Monday on CNN.
Four Republicans would have to break ranks to join Democrats to call any witnesses, which would extend the trial for an undetermined amount of time.
Trump denied the claims in a series of tweets early Monday —
I NEVER told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens. In fact, he never complained about this at the time of his very public termination. If John Bolton said this, it was only to sell a book. With that being said, the…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 27, 2020
…(Democrats said I never met) and released the military aid to Ukraine without any conditions or investigations – and far ahead of schedule. I also allowed Ukraine to purchase Javelin anti-tank missiles. My Administration has done far more than the previous Administration.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 27, 2020
In the end, the tell-all “bombshell” will likely have little effect on the trial.
Rep. Adam Schiff said he’s not interested in the manuscript as a “backup plan” and wouldn’t commit to calling Bolton to appear before the House.
Schiff, asked on @NewDay if the House will subpoena John Bolton if Senate doesn’t. “I don’t want to go into any kind of backup plan,” reiterating call for Senate to call him. He also would not say if House will seek the manuscript. He said the Senate should want Bolton’s notes
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 27, 2020
The president’s supporters also note that, during the impeachment inquiry, Bolton refused to show up for his deposition. Democrats declined to subpoena Bolton, as they had others, because he threatened to sue, which may have lead to a prolonged court battle.
Bolton, who sent the manuscript to the White House for review, is now enmeshed in a legal dispute with the White House over the manuscript’s use of direct quotes and other material from meetings and foreign leader discussions.
The White House has requested that Bolton remove material it considers classified, an insider said, which has the book behind schedule.
Bolton acrimoniously left the White House a day before Trump ultimately released the Ukraine aid on Sept. 11.
Trump’s legal team will begin laying out its case in-depth Monday, turning to several high-profile attorneys to argue against impeachment. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelinskiy has repeatedly insisted that there was no pressure for investigations by Trump.
The lawyers revealed the broad outlines of their defense in a rare Saturday session, at which they accused House Democrats of using the impeachment case to try to undo the results of the last presidential election and drive Trump from office.
The legal team is expected to pick up on that theme and also dive into areas that received negligible attention during the Democrats’ presentation, including the now-concluded investigation into ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Acquittal is likely in a Senate where Republicans hold a 53-47 majority, with a two-thirds vote needed for conviction. Still, they see an opportunity to counter the Democrats’ allegations, defend the powers of the presidency, and prevent Trump from being weakened politically ahead of November’s election.
The legal team will portray Trump as having been harassed by investigations from federal agents — and Democrats — since he took office and will seize on the FBI’s recent acknowledgment of surveillance errors during the Russia probe. The lawyers have already hinted that they will focus attention on Biden just as he campaigns for a first-place finish in next week’s Iowa caucuses.
Monday’s presentation is expected to include appearances by Alan Dershowitz, who will argue that impeachable offenses require criminal-like conduct, and Ken Starr, the independent counsel in the Whitewater investigation that led to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is also expected to make arguments.
On Saturday, the president’s attorneys said there was no evidence that Trump made the military aid contingent on the country announcing an investigation into Biden. They also accused Democrats of omitting information that was favorable to Trump’s case.
Once Trump’s team concludes, senators will have 16 hours to ask questions of both the House impeachment prosecutors and the president’s legal team. Their questions must be in writing, and Chief Justice John Roberts, who has been presiding over the trial, will read them aloud.
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., told reporters Saturday that Republicans expected to get together on Monday to start formulating a list of questions.
Ahead of the trial’s restart, Trump took to social media and again asked Americans to simply “read the transcripts” of his phone call with the Ukranian president.
READ THE TRANSCRIPTS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 27, 2020
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The Associated Press contributed to this article