WASHINGTON — President Trump told his national security adviser in August that he wanted to continue freezing $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine until officials there helped with investigations into Democrats including the Bidens, according to an unpublished manuscript by the former adviser, John R. Bolton.
The president’s statement as described by Mr. Bolton could undercut a key element of his impeachment defense: that the holdup in aid was separate from Mr. Trump’s requests that Ukraine announce investigations into his perceived enemies, including former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son Hunter Biden, who had worked for a Ukrainian energy firm while his father was in office.
Mr. Bolton’s explosive account of the matter at the center of Mr. Trump’s impeachment trial, the third in American history, was included in drafts of a manuscript he has circulated in recent weeks to close associates. He also sent a draft to the White House for a standard review process for some current and former administration officials who write books.
Multiple people described Mr. Bolton’s account of the Ukraine affair.
The book presents an outline of what Mr. Bolton might testify to if he is called as a witness in the Senate impeachment trial, the people said. The White House could use the pre-publication review process, which has no set time frame, to delay or even kill the book’s publication or omit key passages.
bubba-yo on January 27th, 2020 at 03:11 UTC »
Timeline:
1) Gets 7 figure advance on the book.
2) Has to submit book to the WH so they can mark anything that might violate national security.
3) Worries that WH will block the book entirely, so offers to testify to the Senate ensuring that enough of the information makes it on the public record preventing the WH from being able to block the book.
4) Senate testimony becomes a one-shot promotion for the book, on every TV in America, skipping the need to go on a zillion late night TV and news opinion shows.
5) Profit.
rasterbated on January 27th, 2020 at 01:50 UTC »
That would be quite unusual, since Trump typically botches his diplomatic duties without need of assistance.
PermanentEvolution on January 27th, 2020 at 01:13 UTC »
Why resist testifying in the House, write a book spilling the secret, and then offer to testify later?