Trump, Democrats at odds over impeachment trial timing

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump called for a quick end to impeachment Monday as Democrats’ demands for witnesses at a Senate trial were bolstered when former national security adviser John Bolton said he would testify under subpoena.

Republicans and Democrats dug into their positions, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., insistent on starting a trial and determining later if witnesses were necessary.

“House Democrats are treating impeachment like a political toy, treating their effort to remove our commander in chief like some frivolous game,” McConnell said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said McConnell was compliant with the White House and merely “wants a quick and sham trial.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has withheld from the Senate two articles of impeachment charging the president with abuse of office and obstruction of Congress over attempts to force Ukraine to order political investigations to help his re-election bid.

Democrats passed the articles without a single Republican vote in support, and it’s unlikely Senate Republicans will lend their votes to an effort to remove the president.

Democrats cheer Bolton statement

Democrats were buoyed, however, by Bolton’s statement. The former national security adviser said he would testify about Trump’s dealings in Ukraine if subpoenaed by the Senate.

House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., had invited Bolton to testify earlier in the inquiry but did not subpoena him.

Witnesses during the impeachment hearings told lawmakers that Bolton was highly critical of an alleged shadow foreign policy operation in Ukraine run by Trump’s private lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.

In his statement Monday, Bolton said he had reconsidered and would testify to meet his obligations as a citizen and a former administration official.

Bolton is one of four witnesses, including acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, whom Schumer wants to testify about Trump’s July 25 call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Trump asked Zelenskiy for an investigation into Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden while $391 million in U.S. military aid was being withheld.

Witnesses told the House that Bolton was so unnerved by Giuliani’s involvement in the Ukraine that the national security adviser called him a “hand grenade” who threatened the administration’s foreign policy in the region.

Awaiting the articles

Despite the political skirmish over witnesses, McConnell said there can be no trial until Pelosi sends the articles of impeachment to the Senate.

Senate Republicans filed a resolution on Monday that would give Pelosi a 25-day period to file the articles of impeachment, or allow the Republican-led Senate the opportunity to dismiss the charges outright.

The House returns Tuesday and Democrats expect to meet with Pelosi as she weighs when to release of two articles of impeachment to the Senate that would allow a trial to begin.

The Democrat-controlled House also plans to vote this week on a war powers resolution to force the president to consult with Congress before any further military escalation with Iran is ordered.

Trump took to Twitter early Monday to urge the Senate to end the impeachment process expediently as he focuses on Iran and its leaders, who are calling for harsh revenge for the death of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

Trump ordered a drone strike Jan. 3 that killed the head of the Iranian Quds Force, designated by the United States as a terrorist organization since 2007. Soleimani was designated as a terrorist by the United States in 2011.

“The Impeachment Hoax, just a continuation of the Witch Hunt which started even before I won Election, must end quickly,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

Democrats need four votes

But the Bolton statement was seized as a bombshell for Democrats. The former national security adviser has hinted that he has information to share about Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.

Pelosi has withheld the articles of impeachment from the Senate as leverage to force Republicans to hold a trial that could include witnesses who did not comply with House investigators but could now appear before the Senate.

Schumer said that under the rules, Senate Democrats will be able to call for a vote on whether to allow witnesses.

But Democrats would need four Republicans to vote with them to call witnesses. Two GOP lawmakers have voiced concerns about McConnell’s coordination with the White House on the trial, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine.

“It’s now up to four Senate Republicans to support bringing in Mr. Bolton,” Schumer said.

If Republicans failed to subpoena Bolton to appear in a trail, Schumer said it would be “clear they are participating in a cover up.”

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