Nobody outside the National Security Council had access to an explosive manuscript of John Bolton’s upcoming book that claims President Trump linked aid to Ukraine with a demand that the country investigate Joe Biden, according to a spokesman.
A source familiar with details of the vetting process said the White House has had the manuscript for a month.
The revelations in the text undermine a key defense of Trump in his impeachment trial and prompted Democrats to demand that the former national security adviser appear as a witness.
Four Republicans would have to break ranks and vote with Democrats to call witnesses. GOP leadership sources said last week they were confident they could head off the Democrats’ demand for testimony.
“That’s harder this morning,” said one. “Everyone feels blindsided.”
But a spokesman for the NSC said the manuscript had not been circulated more widely around the White House.
“Ambassador Bolton’s manuscript was submitted to the NSC for prepublication review and has been under initial review by the NSC,” he said. “No White House personnel outside NSC have reviewed the manuscript.”
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. With that being said, the…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 27, 2020
Bolton’s book, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, is due to be published on March 17. Its key claims were first reported by the New York Times and confirmed to the Washington Examiner by a source familiar with the text.
Since the manuscript’s release, Democrats have stepped up their calls for Bolton to appear.
“Americans know that a fair trial must include both the documents and witnesses blocked by the president. That starts with Mr. Bolton,” the House impeachment managers said in a statement.
