Tag: John Bolton

GOP moderates side with McConnell over Bolton testimony

Democrats are unlikely to get four Republicans to vote to subpoena John Bolton.

Despite John Bolton’s willingness to testify about the Ukraine scandal, the GOP-controlled Senate has no immediate plans to subpoena him in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial — a win for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the White House.

While Democrats have called for testimony from Trump’s former national security adviser, so far there’s no sign that they will secure support from four Republicans they would need to follow through on their demand.

In their bid for a “fair trial,” Democrats were hoping moderate Republicans like Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah will endorse their efforts to bring in Bolton and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to testify at the trial. They also want to subpoena documents related to the Ukraine scandal. Continue reading.

Bolton willing to testify in Senate impeachment trial if subpoenaed

The Hill logoFormer national security adviser John Bolton said Monday that he would testify in a Senate impeachment trial of President Trump if subpoenaed.

“The House has concluded its Constitutional responsibility by adopting Articles of Impeachment related to the Ukraine matter. It now falls to the Senate to fulfill its Constitutional obligation to try impeachments, and it does not appear possible that a final judicial resolution of the still-unanswered Constitutional questions can be obtained before the Senate acts,” Bolton, who was ousted by Trump last September, said in a statement.

“I have had to resolve the serious competing issues as best I could, based on careful consideration and study. I have concluded that, if the Senate issues a subpoena for my testimony, I am prepared to testify,” Bolton said.  Continue reading.

Bolton and Trump Met Privately Over Withheld Aid, White House Official Testified

New York Times logoJohn R. Bolton, who left the White House in September, has emerged as perhaps the most conspicuous witness who has evaded House Democrats as they build their case.

WASHINGTON — John R. Bolton, President Trump’s national security adviser, met privately with the president in August as part of a bid to persuade Mr. Trump to release $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine, a senior National Security Council aide told House impeachment investigators last month.

The meeting, which has not been previously reported, came as Mr. Bolton sought to marshal Mr. Trump’s cabinet secretaries and top national security advisers to convince the president that it was in the United States’ best interest to unfreeze the funds to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia. But Mr. Bolton emerged with Mr. Trump unmoved, and instructed the aide to look for new opportunities to get those officials in front of Mr. Trump.

“The extent of my recollection is that Ambassador Bolton simply said he wasn’t ready to do it,” said the aide, Timothy Morrison, referring to Mr. Trump, according to a transcript of his testimonyreleased by House Democrats on Saturday.

View the complete November 16 article by Nicholas Fandos and Sheryl Gay Stolberg on The New York Times website here.

Trump files to dismiss lawsuit from Bolton aide on impeachment testimony

The Hill logoPresident Trump on Thursday moved to dismiss a lawsuit filed by an aide to former national security adviser John Bolton who was seeking a ruling on whether he must comply with a congressional subpoena to testify in the House impeachment inquiry.

The filing to the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., cited Trump’s official capacity as president. In it, he sought to have a judge dismiss White House official Dr. Charles Kupperman’s lawsuit seeking guidance on whether he should comply with the subpoena or the president’s directive not to cooperate.

A representative for Trump argued that the president’s direction should supersede any prospective court ruling.

View the complete November 14 article by Brett Samuels on The Hill website here.

John Bolton trashes Trump in private speech — and hints Syria pullout was based on personal financial interests: report

AlterNet logoAccording to a new report from NBC News, former national security adviser John Bolton said during a private speech that President Trump’s foreign policy regarding Turkey is influenced by personal interest.

Sources tell NBC News Bolton suggested that Trump’s claims that his business experience allows him to conduct foreign policy more effectively is without merit — saying that real estate and foreign policy are two different things. During his speech, Bolton reportedly criticized Trump for lacking understanding on how foreign policy works.

Read the full exclusive report over at NBC News.

View the November 12 article from Raw Story on the AlterNet website here.

Bolton Said to Know of ‘Many Relevant Meetings’ on Ukraine, but Will Not Testify

New York Times logoA lawyer for John R. Bolton said he had information to share with impeachment investigators. But, so far, he will not defy the White House.

WASHINGTON — John R. Bolton, President Trump’s former national security adviser, knows about “many relevant meetings and conversations” connected to a pressure campaign on Ukraine that House impeachment investigators have not yet been informed of, his lawyer told lawmakers on Friday.

The lawyer, Charles J. Cooper, tucked the tantalizing assertion into a letter to the chief House lawyer in response to committee chairmen who have sought Mr. Bolton’s testimony in their impeachment inquiry but expressed unwillingness to go to court to get an order compelling it.

Mr. Cooper did not elaborate on what meetings or conversations he was referring to, leaving it to House Democrats to guess at what he might know.

View the complete November 8 article by Nicholas Fandos, Michael D. Shear and Peter Baker on The New York Times website here.

Bolton willing to defy White House and testify if court clears the way, according to people familiar with his views

Washington Post logoFormer national security adviser John Bolton is willing to defy the White House and testify in the House impeachment inquiry about his alarm at the Ukraine pressure campaign if a federal court clears the way, according to people familiar with his views.

Bolton could be a powerful witness for Democrats: Top State Department and national security officials already have testified that he was deeply concerned about efforts by Trump and his allies to push Ukraine to open investigations into a political rival of the president’s while the Trump administration held up military aid to that country.

The former national security adviser, who abruptly left his post in September, is expected to confirm those witnesses’ statements and describe his conversations with Trump, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing inquiry.

View the complete November 7 article by Carol D. Leonnig and Tom Hamburger on The Washington Post website here.

Judge fast-tracks case over former White House official’s refusal to testify in impeachment inquiry

The Hill logoA federal judge on Thursday fast-tracked a case involving a key impeachment witness caught between House Democrats seeking to compel his testimony and a White House order to defy a congressional subpoena.

Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee to the Federal District Court in D.C., called the legal dispute over the testimony of Charles Kupperman, a former deputy to former National Security Advisor John Bolton, a “matter of great public interest and a matter of great urgency for the country.”

Kupperman was on the July 25 phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that is at the center of the impeachment inquiry.

View the complete October 31 article by John Kruzel on The HIll website here.

House calls for Bolton deposition as part of impeachment inquiry

The Hill logoHouse investigators on Wednesday invited former national security adviser John Bolton to give a voluntary deposition next week as part of Democrats’ impeachment inquiry, in what could be key testimony on President Trump‘s contacts with Ukraine.

Democrats are seeking Bolton’s closed-door testimony on Nov. 7, according to a source familiar with the impeachment proceedings, a move that comes following reports that his lawyers are negotiating with three House committees about possibly testifying.

Bolton’s attorney Chuck Cooper told The Hill Wednesday that his client would not appear voluntarily and would need to be subpoenaed.

View the complete October 30 article by Olivia Beavers on The Hill website here.

Former Bolton aide asks court if he’s required to testify in impeachment probe

A top aide to former national security adviser John Bolton filed suit Friday to determine whether he’s required to comply with a subpoena to appear before House impeachment investigators, a move that could mire the testimony of a key witness in litigation as President Donald Trump seeks to block his cooperation with lawmakers.

Charles Kupperman, the former deputy national security adviser — who briefly succeeded Bolton after he left the administration last month — is asking a district court judge to decide how to resolve the conflict between the House subpoena and the president’s directive.

In a Friday letter to Kupperman’s attorney Chuck Cooper, who is also representing Bolton, White House counsel Pat Cipollone indicated that Trump had directed him not to honor the House subpoena and asserted that Kupperman is “absolutely immune” from testifying because of his regular interactions with Trump.

View the complete October 25 article by Kyle Cheney on the Politico website here.