After the Christmas break, the arm wrestling of impeachment resumes. While Nancy Pelosi is playing poker and has yet to send the indictments to the Senate, Donald Trump's former adviser John Bolton said he was ready to testify on Monday if called . This surprise announcement will put pressure on moderate Republican senators: the Senate should indeed have to vote to authorize, or not, the hearing of new witnesses during the trial.
"If the Senate adopted an injunction to obtain my testimony, I would be ready to testify," Bolton said in a statement he posted on Twitter. Previously, he had indicated that he wanted to wait until justice plays the arbitrators on subpoena, while the White House ordered its employees to boycott them.
Bolton opposed to a "sham" on Ukraine
Fired on September 10 due to disagreements with Donald Trump, John Bolton, former White House national security adviser, is of great interest to the Democratic opposition behind the impeachment procedure against the Republican billionaire. She believes the former adviser could provide information on the pressure exerted by the White House to force Ukraine to investigate one of the President's rivals, Joe Biden, and in particular the blocking of close military aid of $ 400 million.
According to leaks published in the American media, John Bolton had distanced himself from it, saying loudly during a meeting that he did not want "to be linked to this scheming" on Ukraine. He also allegedly compared Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who was looking in Kiev for compromising information on Joe Biden's son, "the grenade disguised".
Eyes on four Republican senators
During the holidays, negotiations have not progressed between the boss of the Republicans in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, and the democrat Chuck Schumer on the rules of the future trial. The Democrats want to hear from four witnesses, including John Bolton and Donald Trump's chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, which the Republicans refuse.
During the Bill Clinton trial, it was a vote in the Senate that resolved the question of hearing witnesses. Minority Democrats need the support of four Republicans to obtain an injunction. Three seem to be ready: Mitt Romney, who said he was "troubled" by the actions of Donald Trump, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, who had voted against their party to save Obama's health care reform. In the event of a 50-50 vote, it is not Vice-President Mike Pence who will act as arbitrators, but the head of the Supreme Court, who will preside over the proceedings. The suspense therefore remains intact.
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