Senate Republicans Say They Were Blindsided By White House

As Donald Trump’s legal team begins its second day of oral arguments in the Senate impeachment trial, some Republicans in the Senate were roiled by the report from the New York Times that the White House had been sitting on a copy of former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s upcoming book which apparently asserts that Trump did condition the release of military aid for Ukraine on an announcement of investigations into Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.

Via the New York Times:

By Monday morning, several Republican senators had angrily called the White House trying to determine who at the administration knew about Mr. Bolton’s manuscript, which aides there have had for several weeks, and what was in it. They told the White House they felt blindsided, according to people briefed on the calls who insisted on anonymity to describe private discussions.

One reason for their ire is that Mr. Bolton’s account flies in the face of the rationale the president’s lawyers have offered the Senate for his actions, and which many Republicans have latched onto themselves as a defense of his conduct.

Trump, of course, denies Bolton’s version of the story. He tweeted, “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.” Trump’s lawyers now have to somehow argue that the Donald didn’t do what he’s accused of doing after Bolton has said he did. It’s difficult to see how some GOP senators won’t vote in favor of Bolton testifying at the impeachment trial now, especially since he’s said he would testify if asked. Even folks over at Fox News see the bad timing of the Bolton news.