Transcript
It’s week two of President Trump’s impeachment trial.
His lawyers will continue to defend against his removal from office and the question of whether Senators will allow witnesses still looms over the trial.
However new information has emerged, leaked from a draft of former National Security advisor John Bolton’s new book.
The contents could change the direction of the trial.
A report in the New York Times describes dozens of pages in Bolton’s unpublished manuscript on how the Ukraine matter evolved in the months before he left the White House last September.
Bolton claims Trump told him in August they should continue to hold nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine “until officials there helped with investigations into Democrats including the Bidens.”
That allegation undermines a key component of Trump’s impeachment defense that the two circumstances are unrelated.
Before the New York Times report, Republican leaders were confident they would defeat the vote to include witnesses and documents.
But now, according to three GOP sources, the vote is less certain.
Trump immediately responded to and denied Bolton’s claims by tweeting, in part, “If John Bolton said this, it was only to sell a book.”
Trump’s defense team will wrap up its opening arguments today (Monday)and Tuesday, then Senators will get to ask questions.