Democrats Repeat Demands For Impeachment Trial Witnesses After Bolton Bombshell
Democrats are reiterating their demands for witnesses to appear before the Senate’s impeachment trial after The New York Times reported Sunday that a draft outline of former national security adviser John Bolton’s book includes his recollection that President Donald Trump tied withholding aid from Ukraine to the country investigating his political rival.
The draft outline reportedly described Trump telling Bolton in August that he wanted to continue freezing almost $400 million in congressionally approved military aid to Ukraine until officials there agreed to help investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Tying the two together would reveal that Trump attempted a quid pro with a foreign government, which Democrats have been saying he did for months.
The House impeached Trump in December, and his trial began in the Senate earlier this month. House impeachment managers spent three days last week presenting their opening argument to senators, while Trump’s defense team spent a couple of hours on Saturday giving their argument.
The Democratic House impeachment managers were some of the first to respond to the Times report, releasing a statement demanding Bolton be called as a witness in the trial.
“There is no defensible reason to wait until his book is published, when the information he has to offer is critical to the most important decision Senators must now make ― whether to convict the President of impeachable offenses,” the statement read.
House Impeachment Managers: "There can be no doubt now that Mr. Bolton directly contradicts the heart of the President's defense and therefore must be called as a witness at the impeachment trial of President Trump."
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 27, 2020
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who led Democrats through the impeachment inquiry, said Senate Republicans refusing to call on Bolton and other key witnesses to testify amounts to choosing a cover-up over the...
