Democrats rejected a proposal by two Republicans to read former national security adviser John Bolton’s unpublished book in a secure area of the Capitol.
“What an absurd proposal,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said Tuesday.
Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and James Lankford of Oklahoma said lawmakers should have an opportunity to read Bolton’s manuscript.
In parts of the book that were disclosed to the New York Times, Bolton wrote that Trump wanted to withhold Ukraine security aid until officials there publicly promised an investigation into Democrats, including former Vice President Joe Biden.
Lankford said he wanted to obtain the manuscript to see exactly what Bolton is claiming.
Graham said he agreed with Lankford, adding that the manuscript should be made available in a secure area of the Capitol known as the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility.
“It’s a book,” Schumer said. “There is no reason for it to be read in the SCIF unless you want to hide something.”
Schumer accused Republicans of “twisting themselves into a pretzel to avoid the truth,” about the charges against the president, who is accused of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power.
Democrats want to call Bolton as a witness and believe their case is bolstered by “several stunning chapters” of Bolton’s book that have partly leaked to the media.
Lawmakers have not read the manuscript.
Democrats want to summon three witnesses in addition to Bolton and are seeking four sets of Trump administration documents, all related to the decision to withhold Ukraine aid.
