Vote set on impeachment probe
Former national security adviser John Bolton summoned
WASHINGTON — House investigators are summoning former national security adviser John Bolton to testify in their impeachment inquiry, deepening their reach into the White House as the probe accelerates toward a potential vote to remove the president.
Democratic lawmakers want to hear next week from Bolton, the hawkish former adviser who openly sparred over the administration’s approach to Ukraine, in particular President Donald Trump’s reliance on his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani for a back-channel operation.
The Democrats are also calling John Eisenberg, the lawyer for the NSC who fielded an Army officer’s concerns over Trump’s phone call with the Ukraine president, and Michel Ellis, another security council official, according to a person familiar with the invitation and granted anonymity to discuss it.
On Thursday, the investigators are to hear from Tim Morrison, a former top GOP aide on Capitol Hill, who served at Trump’s National Security Council and was among those likely monitoring the president’s call with Ukraine.
Late Wednesday, it was disclosed that Morrison was resigning his White House position.
The rush of possible new witnesses comes as the House prepares to take its first official vote Thursday on the process ahead. That includes public hearings in a matter of weeks and the possibility of drafting articles of impeachment against the president.
The White House has urged officials not to testify in the impeachment proceedings, and it’s not guaranteed that those called will appear for depositions, even if they receive subpoenas as previous witnesses have.
Bolton’s former deputy, Charles Kupperman, has filed a lawsuit in federal court asking a judge to resolve the question of whether he can be forced to testify since he was a close and frequent adviser to the president.
Any ruling in that case could presumably have an impact on whether Bolton will testify.
In testimony for the House impeachment inquiry, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who worked at the White House National Security Council and monitored the July 25 phone call, told investigators he heard a discussion of Joe Biden and Burisma — a reference to the gas company where Joe Biden’s son served on the board — and that the rough transcript omitted Trump saying there are recordings of Joe Biden discussing corruption in Ukraine, according to people familiar with Tuesday’s closeddoor testimony.