Former Trump administration National Security Adviser John Bolton issued a statement saying he would testify in the Senate impeachment trial if he is subpoenaed.
“I have concluded that, if the Senate issues a subpoena for my testimony, I am prepared to testify,” the former Trump adviser said in the statement Monday.
Of course, every Fake News outlet is going to focus on that and report that it means this is the beginning of the end for Donald Trump, just like they’ve done for a gazillion other things over the last three years.
Nobody quite knows what the former national security adviser would say under oath, but Bolton has long argued that the presidency enjoys a strong presumption of independent judgment, action, and discretion in the area of diplomacy, even military policy.
In other words, Bolton has long believed that executive privilege is important, and personal conversations with the president should be given a right to privacy as a president deems it necessary.
This has long been argued by many from both sides of the aisle in Washington, but like most other things, the DC swamp seems to want to pull a time out for this president.
Here’s the whole statement:
During the present impeachment controversy, I have tried to meet my obligations both as a citizen and as former National Security Advisor. My colleague, Dr. Charles Kupperman, faced with a House committee subpoena on the one hand, and a Presidential directive not to testify on the other, sought final resolution of this Constitutional conflict from the Federal judiciary. After my counsel informed the House committee that I too would seek judicial resolution of these Constitutional issues, the committee chose not to subpoena me. Nevertheless, I publicly resolved to be guided by the outcome of Dr. Kupperman’s case.
But both the President and the House of Representatives opposed his effort on jurisdictional grounds, and each other on the merits. The House committee went so far as to withdraw its subpoena to Dr. Kupperman in a deliberate attempt to moot the case and deprive the court of jurisdiction. Judge Richard Leon, in a carefully reasoned opinion on December 30, held Dr. Kupperman’s case to be moot, and therefore did not reach the separation-of-powers issues.
The House has concluded its Constitutional responsibility by adopting Articles of Impeachment related to the Ukraine matter. It now falls to the Senate to fulfill its Constitutional obligation to try impeachments, and it does not appear possible that a final judicial resolution of the still-unanswered Constitutional questions can be obtained before the Senate acts.
Accordingly, since my testimony is once again at issue, I have had to resolve the serious competing issues as best I could, based on careful consideration and study. I have concluded that, if the Senate issues a subpoena for my testimony, I am prepared to testify.
