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Trump's Lawyers Resume Defense in Impeachment Trial

Ken Bredemeier

   U.S. President Donald Trump's lawyers resume their impeachment defense
   Monday, as Democrats renew calls for witnesses in the Senate trial
   after accounts emerged of Trump telling his then national security
   adviser John Bolton he wanted to withhold military aid to Ukraine until
   it launched an investigation of a key Democratic rival.

   The New York Times [1]first reported the allegations Sunday that appear
   in Bolton's upcoming book, "The Room Where It Happened," and they were
   later confirmed by other news organizations who spoke to people
   familiar with the text.

   Trump is currently on trial in the Senate on two articles of
   impeachment, one of them alleging he abused his presidency by
   withholding $391 million in Ukraine aid while pushing Ukrainian leaders
   to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, his son Hunter Biden's
   work for a Ukrainian natural gas company and a debunked theory that it
   was Ukraine, not Russia, which interfered in the 2016 U.S. election.
   Trump is also accused of obstructing congressional review of his
   Ukraine-related actions.

   The president rejected Bolton's reported account in a series of early
   Monday tweets.

   "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," Trump said.

     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) [2]January 27, 2020

   A Bolton attorney said in a statement the text had been sent to the
   National Security Council a month ago to undergo standard reviews for
   classified information ahead of its release in mid-March.

   The seven members of the House of Representatives serving as
   prosecutors at Trump's impeachment trial immediately renewed their
   calls for Bolton to be called as a witness, saying he "has vital
   information to provide" to the 100 U.S. senators acting as jurors
   deciding Trump's fate, whether he should be convicted and removed from
   office.

   "During our impeachment inquiry, the president blocked our request for
   Mr. Bolton's testimony," they said. "Now we see why. The president
   knows how devastating his testimony would be, and according to the
   report, the White House has had a draft of his manuscript for review.
   President Trump's cover-up must come to an end."

References

   1. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/26/us/politics/trump-bolton-book-ukraine.html
   2. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1221663763138588672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

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