Impeachment watch: John Bolton called to testify in probe

So far, the figures in the House’s impeachment probe have been low-profile career government staffers.

But that all may change next week, as former national security adviser John Bolton has been summoned to testify in the inquiry.

Bolton left the White House in September amid disagreements with Trump on foreign policy. And according to reports, he was not OK with Trump and lawyer Rudy Giuliani’s quest to force Ukraine into investigating Trump’s political rivals by withholding crucial military aid to the country.

In fact, Bolton called Giuliani a “hand grenade who’s going to blow everybody up,” according to testimony from Fiona Hill, a former Trump national security aide who was one of the first to testify in the impeachment probe.

So far, it’s unclear whether Bolton will show up for his testimony or if he’ll follow orders from the Trump White House to ignore a legally binding congressional subpoena.

However, Bolton and Trump are not on good terms.

And Bolton has not been kind to Trump since leaving his role, criticizing Trump’s foreign policy at a closed-door event in late September.

Here’s what else is happening in impeachment news:

• The House on Thursday will vote on the ground rules for the next phase of the impeachment inquiry. The rules make the House Intelligence Committee the lead committee to hold public hearings. That committee will then send its findings to the House Judiciary Committee, which would draft the articles of impeachment. The rules will also try and cut down on stunts from House Republicans, who are trying to protect Trump no matter how corrupt Trump’s conduct may be.

• The Washington Post reported that after Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman went to a White House lawyer to raise concerns about Trump’s July 25 call with the Ukrainian president, that lawyer, John Eisenberg, moved the transcript of the call to a classified server. It’s a sign the White House knew Trump’s actions were corrupt and tried to hide them from being found.

• Tim Morrison, a Russia expert on the National Security Council, is slated to leave his role after testifying in the House impeachment inquiry, NPR reported. Morrison is expected to corroborate the explosive testimony of acting Ukraine ambassador Bill Taylor, who told House investigators that Trump was withholding military aid to force Ukraine into investigating his Democratic rivals.

• Trump’s nominee to be ambassador to Russia testified at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday that withholding military aid to Ukraine in order to force them to investigate a political rival is ‘inconsistent with our values.‘

• Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), the top Trump defender who has been the ring leader of the House GOP’s antics to try and protect Trump, has launched a new stunt to try and get the Ethics Committee to investigate Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff. Republicans have tried to make Schiff their bogeyman, wrongly saying that Schiff misrepresented the facts of Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president.

Come back tomorrow for more impeachment news.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.