Bolton report that Trump asked him to help with Ukraine pressure comes out just as Senate debates impeachment witnesses
JOHN Bolton claims that Donald Trump asked him to help with a Ukraine pressure campaign came out today – just as the Senate began debating whether to allow impeachment witnesses.
Bolton said the president asked him to get dirt on his Democratic rivals from Ukrainian officials in an unpublished manuscript, reports the New York Times.
The then national security adviser was directed to call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to ensure he met with Giuliani.
Giuliani was planning a trip to Ukraine to chat about the probe the president wanted to conduct, according to Bolton’s account.
He said Mick Mulvaney, Rudolph W. Giuliani and the White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone were there when Trump issued the instruction back in May.
Senators – who are debating whether to hear witness testimony – are not allowed to have their cellphones on the senate floor as this news emerged.
Bolton said he never made the controversial call – but the Times notes this is the earliest known instance of Trump’s pressure campaign.
His July call with the recently elected Zelensky culminated in a whistleblower coming forward and the ongoing impeachment.
While House Democrats say Trump flouted his authority with these actions but White House lawyers blasted any wrongdoing.
They want top advisers to be witnesses during the highly publicized trial but Republicans blocked their efforts.
Trump and Giuliani denied Bolton’s claims, denying the Oval Office meeting even took place.
“I never instructed John Bolton to set up a meeting for Rudy Giuliani, one of the greatest corruption fighters in America and by far the greatest mayor in the history of N.Y.C., to meet with President Zelensky.”
Giuliani said Bolton’s accusations were “absolutely, categorically untrue.”
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