Former National Security Advisor John Bolton has been an outside but key figure in the impeachment investigation into President Donald Trump and on Monday, the former Trump aide spun the impeachment news cycle on its head when he announced that he is willing to testify in the impeachment trial if he is subpoenaed.
Bolton said in a statement released to his website, “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.”
He added, “Since my testimony is once again at issue, 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.”
I have posted a brief statement regarding testimony on the Ukraine impeachment matter before the Senate at: https://t.co/Q3TwI2BzBp
— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) January 6, 2020
Bolton has previously said that he has knowledge of the issues central to the impeachment investigation.
The development is sure to change the narrative around the impeachment process in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said before Christmas that he had not ruled out having witnesses in the Senate’s trial.
But McConnell has also revealed that his primary interest in the impeachment trial is protecting the president. During a Fox News interview, he said that “everything I do during this, I’m coordinating with White House counsel.” When asked about witnesses in the trial, McConnell said it was up to Trump’s team, saying, “The president’s counsel may or may not decide they want to have witnesses.”
Bolton could be a dynamite witness for Democrats hoping for more information on the president. The former national security advisor has criticized Trump on foreign policy issues, even calling his North Korea strategy a failure.
