Trump team wraps arguments, but Bolton book allegations loom

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s legal team wrapped up arguments Tuesday, arguing he committed no offense that would justify removing him from office.

The spotlight quickly swung to the question of whether the Senate would vote to call witnesses in the case, including former national security adviser John Bolton, who claims in a new book that Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine to force an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden.

Trump has denied the charge, and his attorneys have argued that, even if it were true, it would not justify his removal.

But Democrats were buoyed by the news, which could stop a fast acquittal of Trump in the Senate and lead to a more prolonged look at evidence surrounding his dealings in Ukraine that are at the heart of his House impeachment and Senate trial.

The president’s lawyers tried to stave off the shift in sentiment among some Senate Republicans that more evidence and testimony from key former and current officials are needed to render a decision.

“The articles of impeachment fall far short of any constitutional standard, and they are dangerous,” said White House counsel Pat Cipollone.

The president’s personal lawyer, Jay Sekulow, argued that the House impeachment was a dispute over foreign policy in Ukraine, and to remove a duly elected president because of such a disagreement would hamper future presidents.

“Danger. Danger. Danger,” Sekulow warned.

The president’s defense in the trial was upended this week by Bolton’s manuscript.

Democrats seized on the new information to pressure the Senate to vote to call Bolton as a witness in the trial that many Republicans hoped would finish by week’s end with an acquittal of the president.

Book contradicts president’s lawyers

Trump’s legal team argued that there was no direct quid pro quo sought by the president that would provide the military aid in exchange for an investigation of Biden and his son Hunter, who worked for a Ukrainian gas company. But the Bolton manuscript’s allegation directly ties the aid to the investigation, according to The New York Times, which received a copy of the manuscript.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has scheduled a vote for later this week on the issue of witnesses. He held a closed-door meeting with GOP senators Wednesday.

The mood among leadership was telling before the meeting began.

The GOP holds a 53-47 majority in the Senate.

Democrats are confident that a sufficient number of GOP colleagues would vote to call witnesses, including Bolton, who has said he would testify in the Senate under subpoena. It would take a simple majority of 51 senators to seek his testimony.

Several Republicans, including Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, said again Tuesday that the Bolton revelations in the Ukraine affair should be examined.

“I hope to be able to hear from John Bolton,” Romney told The Hill newspaper.

In a morning telephone call with reporters, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said the information recently released of Bolton’s account should prompt senators to want to hear all evidence before making a historic decision.

“If there is any doubt, they should call John Bolton,” she said. “We need a fair trial.”

Subpoenas for Bidens

Trump allies in the Senate warned that any attempt to call witnesses against the president would be met with subpoenas for others mentioned in the Ukraine narrative.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said there were 51 votes in the Senate to subpoena the Bidens and the whistleblower who kicked off the impeachment inquiry.

He said a proposal by Sen. Jim Lankford, R-Okla., that would allow senators to read the Bolton manuscript in a secured room for classified material was acceptable but unnecessary.

“I am comfortable I have enough,” Graham said of the information presented.

Despite the Trump defense team’s arguments, other constitutional lawyers who appeared before the House Judiciary Committee said allegedly soliciting a foreign government to interfere in a U.S. election was certainly grounds for impeachment.

According to a transcript released by the White House, Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a July 25 telephone call to investigate the Bidens. The request came after public opinion polls showed the former vice president with more support than Trump among likely voters, according to House impeachment managers.

While the request was made, Trump was withholding nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine to battle Russian-backed separatists. That action was questioned by State Department officials, who testified that they argued against placing the aid on hold for political reasons.

Trump’s legal team argued that the aid was not a quid pro quo for the investigation, and that the president had approved Javelin missiles for Ukraine to fight against Russian tanks and armor.

Sekulow also argued that the president had the right to withhold the aid and to inquire about corruption.

Democrats noted that the aid was already cleared for delivery by the Pentagon because Ukraine met anti-corruption benchmarks.

And Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said any attempt to involve the Bidens in the Senate trial was a distraction from the issue of whether the president abused his office in seeking foreign intervention for his re-election bid.

Schumer dismissed questions over witness deals that would deliver Bolton and Joe Biden to appease partisan concerns.

The minority leader said talks about Biden’s testimony were off the table.

Senators return Wednesday to begin 16 hours, equally divided, of asking questions of House impeachment managers and the president’s legal team. Under the Constitution, 67 votes are required to remove the president from office, which means 20 Republicans would have to join with minority Democrats to take that action.

Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7390. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.