With the Senate moving closer to a decision on whether to call additional impeachment witnesses — among them former national security adviser John Bolton, who Democrats are demanding testify — President Trump tweeted out a video of an interview with Bolton from August 2019 in which he praises the president’s July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and cites the administration’s concerns about “corruption” in Ukraine.
“I will be meeting President Zelensky. He and President Trump have already spoken twice,” Bolton told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty shortly after the July 25 call that sparked the impeachment inquiry. “President called to congratulate President Zelensky on his election and then on his success in the parliamentary election. They were very warm and cordial calls. We’re hoping that they will be able to meet in Warsaw and have a few minutes together.”
“Because the success of Ukraine maintaining its freedom, its system of representative government, a free market economy — free of corruption — and dealing with the problems of the Donbass and the Crimea are high priorities here, obviously, but also high priorities for the United States, as well,” Bolton added.
“GAME OVER!” Trump captioned the video.
GAME OVER! pic.twitter.com/yvMa6bPqfy
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2020
Trump’s tweet comes amid a furious battle in the Senate over forcing a testimony from Bolton, who is shielded by executive privilege.
The leaked manuscript of Bolton’s upcoming book has thrown fuel on the fire after reports it claims that Trump told Bolton 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,” as reported by The New York Times on Sunday (formatting adjusted):
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to Ukraine until officials there helped with investigations into Democrats including the Bidens, according to an unpublished manuscript by the former adviser, John R. Bolton. …
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.
Trump responded to the reports by forcefully denying ever telling Bolton the aid was connected to investigations into the Bidens and accusing his former national security adviser of just trying to “sell a book.”
“I NEVER told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens,” Trump tweeted. “In fact, he never complained about this at the time of his very public termination. If John Bolton said this, it was only to sell a book.”
“With that being said, the 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,” Trump added. “Additionally, I met with President Zelensky at the United Nations (Democrats said I never met) and released the military aid to Ukraine without any conditions or investigations – and far ahead of schedule. I also allowed Ukraine to purchase Javelin anti-tank missiles. My Administration has done far more than the previous Administration.”
I NEVER told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens. In fact, he never complained about this at the time of his very public termination. If John Bolton said this, it was only to sell a book. With that being said, the…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 27, 2020
…(Democrats said I never met) and released the military aid to Ukraine without any conditions or investigations – and far ahead of schedule. I also allowed Ukraine to purchase Javelin anti-tank missiles. My Administration has done far more than the previous Administration.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 27, 2020