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Trump’s Defense Team Discounts Bolton as Republicans Work to Hold Off Witnesses Trump’s Defense Team Discounts Bolton as Republicans Work to Hold Off Witnesses
(about 1 hour later)
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s defense team appealed to the Senate on Tuesday to disregard a new account by John R. Bolton that bolsters the impeachment case against him, as Republican leaders worked feverishly behind the scenes to prevent his former national security adviser or other witnesses from coming forward in the trial. WASHINGTON — President Trump’s defense team appealed to the Senate on Tuesday to disregard a new account by John R. Bolton that bolsters the impeachment case against the president. But by day’s end, Republican leaders indicated that they had not corralled the votes they sought to prevent his former national security adviser or other witnesses from coming forward.
Addressing the matter directly for the first time on the final day of arguments on Mr. Trump’s behalf, Jay Sekulow, one of the president’s private lawyers, sought to raise doubts about Mr. Bolton’s claim in an unpublished manuscript that Mr. Trump tied the release of military aid to Ukraine to investigations into his political rivals, calling it an “unsourced allegation” that was “inadmissible” in his impeachment trial. On the final day of arguments on Mr. Trump’s behalf, Jay Sekulow, one of the president’s private lawyers, sought to raise doubts about Mr. Bolton’s claim in an unpublished manuscript that Mr. Trump tied the release of military aid to Ukraine to investigations into his political rivals, calling it an “unsourced allegation” that was “inadmissible” in his impeachment trial.
Without directly denying the veracity of the account, whose existence was first reported by The New York Times, Mr. Sekulow sought to lobby senators against subpoenaing the former national security adviser or even considering what he had to say, arguing that even if it were true, the behavior Mr. Bolton described was not impeachable. Just after Mr. Trump’s team ended a three-day legal defense, Republican senators rushed into a private meeting room in the Capitol, where Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, worked to herd his rank and file in line behind ending the trial. He brandished a card that bore a tally of Republican votes on the question, and warned that he did not yet have enough to block an expected Democratic move to call witnesses because some Republicans remained uncommitted, according to people familiar with the meeting not authorized to discuss it publicly.
Impeachment “is not a game of leaks and unsourced manuscripts,” Mr. Sekulow said. “That is politics, unfortunately. Hamilton put impeachment in the hands of this body, the Senate, precisely and specifically, to be above that fray.”
Immediately afterward, Republican senators rushed into a private meeting room in the Capitol to debate the looming question of calling witnesses, a debate that has intensified after the reports of Mr. Bolton’s story and is likely to culminate in a vote on Friday. They emerged an hour later with no clear consensus on how to proceed.
“It was a serious family discussion,” Senator Kevin Cramer, Republican of North Dakota, told reporters as he emerged from the senators-only meeting in the Strom Thurmond Room. “Some people are sincerely exploring all the avenues.”“It was a serious family discussion,” Senator Kevin Cramer, Republican of North Dakota, told reporters as he emerged from the senators-only meeting in the Strom Thurmond Room. “Some people are sincerely exploring all the avenues.”
Senator Mike Braun, Republican of Indiana, said no consensus had been reached. The talks unfolded after Mr. Trump’s team essentially rested their case against removing him from office, ending its oral arguments by urging senators to ignore what Mr. Bolton might have to say. Without directly denying the veracity of his account, whose existence was first reported by The New York Times, Mr. Sekulow argued that the behavior Mr. Bolton described was not had no place in the discussion of the president’s fate.
But privately, one Republican senator, who insisted on anonymity to offer a candid assessment, said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, was working to find a way to bring the trial to a swift and orderly close, avoiding the issue of witnesses altogether. Impeachment “is not a game of leaks and unsourced manuscripts,” Mr. Sekulow said. “That is politics, unfortunately. Hamilton put impeachment in the hands of this body, the Senate, precisely and specifically, to be above that fray.”
Conservatives said the case for moving directly to acquittal without new testimony or documents was overwhelming, but key moderates, including Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, said they were still undecided. Earlier, another moderate, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, indicated that “Mr. Bolton probably has some things that would be helpful for us.”
Two Republicans, Senators Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine, have said they would vote for witnesses, but Democrats would need four Republicans to join them in order to prevail.
The argument was a bid to quiet the anger and anxiety that Mr. Bolton’s revelation prompted in Republican ranks when it emerged at a critical stage in Mr. Trump’s impeachment trial. Conservatives said the case for moving directly to acquittal without new testimony or documents was overwhelming, but key moderates, including Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, said they were still undecided. Earlier, another moderate, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, indicated that “Mr. Bolton probably has some things that would be helpful for us.”
Two other Republicans, Senators Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine, have said they would vote for witnesses, but Democrats would need four Republicans to join them in order to prevail.
Inside the private meeting on Tuesday, Mr. McConnell warned that allowing witnesses would blow the trial wide open and potentially prolong it by weeks. Clutching his whip count of yeses, noes and maybes, Mr. McConnell appeared to be suggesting that undecided senators needed to make up their minds and get in line with the majority of their colleagues.
The activity inside and outside the Senate chamber underscored just how thoroughly Mr. Bolton’s account has upended the trial, injecting an element of unpredictability into a proceeding that appeared headed for Mr. Trump’s acquittal by week’s end.The activity inside and outside the Senate chamber underscored just how thoroughly Mr. Bolton’s account has upended the trial, injecting an element of unpredictability into a proceeding that appeared headed for Mr. Trump’s acquittal by week’s end.
The longtime Republican foreign policy figure has made clear he would testify if called, but senators also know that regardless of his account, it is a virtual impossibility that the Republican-controlled chamber would vote to convict Mr. Trump and remove him from office less than 10 months before a presidential election. A 67-vote supermajority would be needed to do so.The longtime Republican foreign policy figure has made clear he would testify if called, but senators also know that regardless of his account, it is a virtual impossibility that the Republican-controlled chamber would vote to convict Mr. Trump and remove him from office less than 10 months before a presidential election. A 67-vote supermajority would be needed to do so.
How they proceed could have significant political ramifications not just for Mr. Trump, whose very defenses could be further undermined, but for Republican senators up for re-election in swing states this fall who want to show voters they conducted a fair tribunal.How they proceed could have significant political ramifications not just for Mr. Trump, whose very defenses could be further undermined, but for Republican senators up for re-election in swing states this fall who want to show voters they conducted a fair tribunal.
Democrats pounced on Mr. Sekulow’s remarks about Mr. Bolton, saying that his reference to “unsourced allegations” proved their point that the Senate must subpoena Mr. Bolton to testify in the trial to clarify his precise account.Democrats pounced on Mr. Sekulow’s remarks about Mr. Bolton, saying that his reference to “unsourced allegations” proved their point that the Senate must subpoena Mr. Bolton to testify in the trial to clarify his precise account.
“Once again, the president’s team, in a way that only they could, have further made the case for calling John Bolton,” Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the lead House manager, told reporters during a break in the proceedings.“Once again, the president’s team, in a way that only they could, have further made the case for calling John Bolton,” Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the lead House manager, told reporters during a break in the proceedings.
Proponents of calling Mr. Bolton got an unexpected bit of support late Monday from John F. Kelly, the former White House chief of staff, who told an audience in Florida that he believed Mr. Bolton’s account and supported the Senate seeking direct witnesses.Proponents of calling Mr. Bolton got an unexpected bit of support late Monday from John F. Kelly, the former White House chief of staff, who told an audience in Florida that he believed Mr. Bolton’s account and supported the Senate seeking direct witnesses.
“I think some of the conversations seem to me to be very inappropriate, but I wasn’t there,” he said, according to The Sarasota Herald-Tribune. “But there are people that were there that ought to be heard from.”“I think some of the conversations seem to me to be very inappropriate, but I wasn’t there,” he said, according to The Sarasota Herald-Tribune. “But there are people that were there that ought to be heard from.”
Republican leaders appeared to be slowing down what had been a breakneck trial schedule to allow for fuller consideration of the matter. They were hopeful that by putting distance between the emergence of Mr. Bolton’s account and the vote on witnesses, tensions would cool enough to hold a majority intact to reject Democrats’ demands for witnesses.Republican leaders appeared to be slowing down what had been a breakneck trial schedule to allow for fuller consideration of the matter. They were hopeful that by putting distance between the emergence of Mr. Bolton’s account and the vote on witnesses, tensions would cool enough to hold a majority intact to reject Democrats’ demands for witnesses.
Beginning Wednesday, senators will have up to 16 hours spread over two days to question the prosecution and the defense teams. Much of that time will most likely be used to allow the two sides to respond to one another’s arguments, but Democrats and Republicans were also preparing pointed questions intended to highlight soft spots in the respective cases.Beginning Wednesday, senators will have up to 16 hours spread over two days to question the prosecution and the defense teams. Much of that time will most likely be used to allow the two sides to respond to one another’s arguments, but Democrats and Republicans were also preparing pointed questions intended to highlight soft spots in the respective cases.
At the White House, Mr. Trump was uncharacteristically quiet about the impeachment proceedings, which he has followed on television in recent days. He sought instead to put his policy agenda on full display, unveiling a long awaited Middle East peace plan that bolstered arguments by his lawyers that the president was a boon, not a threat, to American interests.At the White House, Mr. Trump was uncharacteristically quiet about the impeachment proceedings, which he has followed on television in recent days. He sought instead to put his policy agenda on full display, unveiling a long awaited Middle East peace plan that bolstered arguments by his lawyers that the president was a boon, not a threat, to American interests.
Mr. Trump framed the matter even more directly on Twitter.Mr. Trump framed the matter even more directly on Twitter.
“Are you better off now than you were three years ago?” he wrote. “Almost everyone say YES!”“Are you better off now than you were three years ago?” he wrote. “Almost everyone say YES!”
Inside the Senate chamber, Mr. Sekulow and two White House lawyers delivered a voluble and indignant final defense, capping three days of oral arguments on the president’s behalf against the House’s abuse of power and obstruction of Congress charges.Inside the Senate chamber, Mr. Sekulow and two White House lawyers delivered a voluble and indignant final defense, capping three days of oral arguments on the president’s behalf against the House’s abuse of power and obstruction of Congress charges.
Punctuating his remarks with a refrain of “danger, danger, danger,” Mr. Sekulow insisted that the managers’ case was built solely on a dressed up policy dispute with the president over his push to combat corruption there.Punctuating his remarks with a refrain of “danger, danger, danger,” Mr. Sekulow insisted that the managers’ case was built solely on a dressed up policy dispute with the president over his push to combat corruption there.
“If that becomes the new normal, future presidents, Democrats and Republicans will be paralyzed the moment they are elected, even before they can take the oath of office,” Mr. Sekulow said. “The bar for impeachment cannot be set this low.”“If that becomes the new normal, future presidents, Democrats and Republicans will be paralyzed the moment they are elected, even before they can take the oath of office,” Mr. Sekulow said. “The bar for impeachment cannot be set this low.”
Despite his warnings, Mr. Sekulow did not directly deny the former national security adviser’s account, instead reading aloud from statements by Mr. Trump, the Justice Department and the vice president’s office contesting Mr. Bolton’s specific recollections.Despite his warnings, Mr. Sekulow did not directly deny the former national security adviser’s account, instead reading aloud from statements by Mr. Trump, the Justice Department and the vice president’s office contesting Mr. Bolton’s specific recollections.
Democrats spent three days last week arguing just the opposite. They said that the House’s two-month investigation concluded that Mr. Trump had used the powers of his office not in the pursuit of a policy objective but a political advantage. When he was caught, they argued, he sought to conceal what he had done by ordering an across the board defiance of their investigation.Democrats spent three days last week arguing just the opposite. They said that the House’s two-month investigation concluded that Mr. Trump had used the powers of his office not in the pursuit of a policy objective but a political advantage. When he was caught, they argued, he sought to conceal what he had done by ordering an across the board defiance of their investigation.
Clocking in at under an hour and a half, the bare-bones closing argument from Mr. Trump’s lawyers underscored their confidence in the final outcome. In the end, they used less than half of the 24 hours available to them to present a case to senators.Clocking in at under an hour and a half, the bare-bones closing argument from Mr. Trump’s lawyers underscored their confidence in the final outcome. In the end, they used less than half of the 24 hours available to them to present a case to senators.
Pat A. Cipollone, the White House counsel, capped the presentation by playing a highlight reel of House and Senate Democrats arguing against a partisan impeachment in 1998, including Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, one of the House managers, and Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader.Pat A. Cipollone, the White House counsel, capped the presentation by playing a highlight reel of House and Senate Democrats arguing against a partisan impeachment in 1998, including Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, one of the House managers, and Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader.
“You were right,” Mr. Cipollone said, looking directly at Mr. Schumer.“You were right,” Mr. Cipollone said, looking directly at Mr. Schumer.
“All you need in this case are the Constitution and your common sense,” Mr. Cipollone sad. “The articles of impeachment fall far short of any constitutional standard, and they are dangerous.”“All you need in this case are the Constitution and your common sense,” Mr. Cipollone sad. “The articles of impeachment fall far short of any constitutional standard, and they are dangerous.”
Reporting was contributed by Carl Hulse, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Emily Cochrane and Catie Edmondson.Reporting was contributed by Carl Hulse, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Emily Cochrane and Catie Edmondson.