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In his book, Bolton reveals Trump’s intentions to hold military aid to Ukraine as a pressure strategy to make Ukranian authorities investigate its political rivals.
The impeachment of President Donald Trump has taken a new turn of events as a book by former national security advisor John Bolton offers details that contradict the arguments in the president's defense.
In "The Room Where It Happened; A White House Memoir," Bolton reveals Trump's intentions to hold military aid to Ukraine as a pressure strategy to make Ukranian authorities investigate his political rivals, including former Vice President Joe Biden, who is emerging as a possible contender for Trump's presidency this November.
Trump's lawyers, who came back this Monday with a new round of arguments, have so far insisted that at no time the U.S. president made assistance to Ukraine a condition in exchange for the investigations into Biden and his son.
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham implied the possibility of a setup regarding the alleged "revelation," telling Fox News on Monday that "the timing of this is very, very suspicious" and supporting Trump's denials.
Also, Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, went a little bit further, saying, "No wonder Bolton had accomplished so little as National Security Advisor."
Trump, in a series of tweets on Monday morning, also denied the claims in the book.
...transcripts of my calls with President Zelensky are all the proof that is needed, in addition to the fact that President Zelensky & the Foreign Minister of Ukraine said there was no pressure and no problems. Additionally, I met with President Zelensky at the United Nations...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 27, 2020
However, the allegations in the book immediately encouraged the Democrats who are now insisting that Bolton has to be called on to testify, the two parties have so far failed to reach an agreement regarding the possibility of calling additional witnesses.
A trial that doesn't allow testimony from material witnesses isn't a trial at all. It's a cover-up.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 27, 2020
Your Republican senators need to hear from you today. (202) 224-3121https://t.co/38CGlIXM4G
The Democrats asked Bolton to testify in November, but it was a voluntary request and they decided not to call on him when his lawyers said they would oppose the measure in court.
However, after the House of Representatives voted to impeach, Bolton said he was "prepared to testify" in case the Senate subpoenaed him.
Fox News' Chris Wallace on the Bolton news: "If you want a sense of how big the news is that we've heard in the past 12-14 hours, listen to the Trump supporters...spinning like crazy that it isn't big news and you get a sense that this is really an important development." pic.twitter.com/o5xl6xj09e
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) January 27, 2020
The revelations in Bolton's book, to be published in March, were initially published by The New York Times and confirmed by a source familiar with the manuscript who asked to remain anonymous.
As soon as The New York Times version was published on Sunday night, Democratic prosecutors immediately asked senators to insist that Bolton should be allowed to testify as a witness and hand over his notes and other documents.
Senator Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Democrats in the upper house, echoed the request.
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