Adam Schiff Would Like to Hear More from John Bolton for an Impeachment 2.0

By US Politics and News Last updated Jun 23, 2020

John Bolton probably wasn’t President Trump’s best choice as his National Security Advisor. President Trump campaigned on the promise to rebuild the economy and leverage American economic strength to convince U.S. allies to chip in more for their own mutual defense. John Bolton wanted a U.S. invasion of Syria and Iraq. What the President promised that he would not do was allow the United States to become bogged down in more “forever” wars. So far, he has kept that promise.

The President does not appoint yes-men/women. Oval Office and Cabinet meetings are typically brainstorming sessions, where the President takes charge, tosses out ideas, and encourages debate. Donald Trump has never been a passive receiver of information, and he relies on his advisors to polish his rough edges. He is a President who cares little about political correctness and wants what’s best for his brethren, the American people.

What John Bolton apparently would not do was get on board once the President weighed the advice and made a decision Bolton opposed. During his last days in the White House, Bolton spent much of his time locked in his office, while his NSA colleagues went around him. Bolton knew his days were numbered so he spent his time transcribing his extensive notes into a manuscript in anticipation of a lucrative book deal.

Once he was formally kicked out of the White House he quickly realized just how many people he had alienated in Washington. No one would talk to him. His career was over. He couldn’t even become a darling of the Trump-hating crowd, because he refused to testify during the President’s impeachment hearings. He wouldn’t testify, and Committee Chair Adam Schiff couldn’t force him.

But Bolton’s refusal wasn’t out of loyalty to the President. Even Schiff agreed. In one interview Schiff said that he couldn’t be sure whether Bolton’s testimony “would have made a significant difference in trial — it may have if it led to further evidence and further witnesses — but we’ll never know. This is the price the country had to pay for John Bolton’s putting profit above country.”

Nevertheless, there was nothing that Bolton could have said that would have helped Schiff’s thin case in any way. Schiff probably knew that, so he didn’t press the matter. Besides, taking this to court would have lengthened the process, and Democrats didn’t have the time.

In his book Bolton wrote that Schiff and his sleazy cronies, “seemed governed more by their own political imperatives to move swiftly to vote on articles of impeachment in order to avoid interfering with the Democratic presidential nomination schedule than in completing a comprehensive investigation.”

However, Schiff and his minions might be interested in a do-over. Schiff suggested on “Meet the Press” that John Bolton could be called to testify before his House Intelligence Committee. A fresh new round of impeachment proceedings could result from Bolton’s memoir—or not.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the President’s former Press Secretary, in her own book has described Bolton as “a classic case of a senior White House official drunk on power, who had forgotten that nobody elected him to anything. Often Bolton acted like he was the President, pushing an agenda contrary to President Trump’s.”

So, as Bolton’s book begins to lose relevance and gravitas, his appearance at Impeachment 2.0, could give his sales a boost. He will probably gladly show up next time.