The former national security adviser shared his unease with the attorney general, who cited his own worries about the president’s conversations with the leaders of Turkey and China.
WASHINGTON — John R. Bolton, the former national security adviser, privately told Attorney General William P. Barr last year that he had concerns that President Trump was effectively granting personal favors to the autocratic leaders of Turkey and China, according to an unpublished manuscript by Mr. Bolton.
Mr. Barr responded by pointing to a pair of Justice Department investigations of companies in those countries and said he was worried that Mr. Trump had created the appearance that he had undue influence over what would typically be independent inquiries, according to the manuscript. Backing up his point, Mr. Barr mentioned conversations Mr. Trump had with the leaders, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and President Xi Jinping of China.
Mr. Bolton’s account underscores the fact that the unease about Mr. Trump’s seeming embrace of authoritarian leaders, long expressed by experts and his opponents, also existed among some of the senior cabinet officers entrusted by the president to carry out his foreign policy and national security agendas. Continue reading.
Senate Republicans are reportedly feeling 
Republicans have repeatedly argued that the impeachment evidence against President Trump is thin. They’ve said it is based upon “hearsay” that wasn’t corroborated by people more intimately involved with the Ukraine effort (whose testimony the White House has blocked). They’ve suggested, despite numerous witnesses testifying to similar things, that the witnesses weren’t credible and that they might have axes to grind.
Rick Reilly is not only a former Sports Illustrated columnist — he is also the author of the book, “Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump.” According to Reilly, Trump is a major cheat when it comes to playing golf — and that says a lot about his presidency.