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Bolton For Biden? Senate Dems Quietly Considering Trial Witness Trade Deal

   DailyWire.com
US National Security Advisor John Bolton answers journalists questions after his meeting with Belarus President in Minsk on August 29, 2019
Photo credit: SERGEI GAPON/AFP/Getty Images

A handful of Senate Democrats are reportedly discussing a trade deal that would allow former White House national security advisor John Bolton testify in President Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial by trading Bolton’s testimony for Hunter Biden’s.

MSN reports that some Senators are considering the deal in order to “call Republicans’ bluff” on witnesses, because they believe Bolton’s testimony will be far more damaging to the White House than Hunter Biden’s, though the same group admits they do not know what either would say under oath.

In a grueling, thirteen-hour session Tuesday, Senators argued over Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) stated rules for Trump’s Senate impeachmen trial, hammering each other over documents, witnesses, session times, and argument length. At 2am, after five straight losses, Democrats finally threw in the towel on presenting additional evidence and hearing from witnesses who did not testify in the House impeachment inquiry, though even Republicans left the door open for welcoming further testimony once the two sides have finished presenting opening arguments.

Most Democrats responded to the losses by blaming Republicans for being “complicit” in a White House “cover up,” even though Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) deliberately limited who could testify in the House impeachment inquiry, lest witnesses accidentally provide evidence to the panel favorable to President Trump. Some Democrats, though, MSN says, have started working on a different sort of response.

“[B]ehind closed doors, a small group of Democratic senators and aides has begun to question that logic, sounding out colleagues on whether to back a witness deal that could lead to testimony from former national security adviser John Bolton or other administration officials with possible firsthand knowledge of the Ukraine controversy, according to multiple Democratic officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private discussions,” the outlet reported.

“These Democrats said they believe having Hunter — or possibly Joe Biden — testify could backfire on Trump and the GOP,” MSN continued, “giving Biden and the party a platform to strike back and paint Republicans and the White House as obsessed with trying to damage one of Trump’s 2020 presidential rivals.”

But it’s not clear, even to these Democrats, that having Joe or Hunter Biden testify is foolproof. Although Senators like Illinois’ Dick Durbin believe Joe Biden would be “comfortable” in the Senate and willing to answer simple questions about Trump’s behavior towards him and his son, Democrats ultimately do not know the extent of Joe or Hunter Biden’s involvement in Ukraine, and may not want to have the pair answering questions when they aren’t quite sure what either will say.

Joe Biden’s camp, also, wants to avoid mention of the Ukraine issue on such a national platform where they don’t control the message — and, while they aren’t saying it publicly, given Hunter Biden’s recent troubles, may want to avoid associating the former Vice President’s son with his presidential campaign.

And there may be no payoff: John Bolton has said he will only testify in front of the Senate if called by Republicans, and when asked about what he might say, Bolton was silent. In a confrontational situation, Bolton may just plead the Fifth Amendment, leaving Democrats without much to gain, and everything to lose.

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