Book sparks impeachment talk

Nadler: Senate GOP too ‘corrupt’ to weigh Bolton statements

The chairman of the House committee that originates impeachment articles said Sunday that it would be a waste of time to try to impeach President Donald Trump again because Senate Republicans were too “corrupt” to consider statements made in a new book by John Bolton, the president’s former national security adviser.

“The Senate Republicans were not interested in any evidence,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., who is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said in an interview on the CNN program State of

the Union. “They were corrupt in that respect.”

Bolton suggested in his book that Congress should have investigated Trump for his use of trade negotiations and attempted interference in criminal inquiries to further his political interests, far beyond the one episode in which he sought to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals.

The book’s revelations were met with frustration from Capitol Hill Democrats, who were angry that Bolton waited until the release of his book — for which he was reportedly paid $2 million — to accuse Trump of misdeeds that went far beyond those for which he was impeached. Republicans pushed back against the book’s claims as either false or motivated by money.

Peter Navarro, Trump’s trade adviser, appeared on the same CNN program and disputed several claims in Bolton’s book. He also said the former national security adviser revealed “highly classified” information and should face legal consequences.

“That guy should be turning in his seersucker suit for an orange jumpsuit,” Navarro said. “John Bolton has put highly classified information sprinkled throughout a very large book. I predict this: He will not only not get the profits from that book, but he risks a jail sentence.”

Democratic leaders did express some interest Sunday in calling Bolton to testify before Congress.

During his interview, Nadler at first said he was “not interested” in hearing testimony from Bolton, but later said his committee “may” call him to hear more about allegations that Trump considered interfering in an investigation of a state-owned Turkish bank.

“The president has done a lot of impeachable things, including what Bolton’s talking about,” Nadler said.

“But we have an election coming up. We know the Republicans in the Senate will not entertain an impeachment in any event. That would at this point be a waste of time and effort.”

Nadler also attacked Attorney General William Barr over the dismissal of federal prosecutor Geoffrey Berman, whose office put Trump’s former personal lawyer in prison.

“He certainly deserves impeachment,” Nadler said of Barr.

“Again, that’s a waste of time because the Republicans in the Senate won’t look at that. We have other ways of getting at this.”

On other shows Sunday morning, Democratic leaders condemned Bolton’s conduct but said he might be called to air more details.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., chairman of the Intelligence Committee, accused Bolton of “cowardice” and “greed,” but said that he, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others in leadership would consider their next steps.

“We do need, I think, to expose the length and breadth of this president’s depravity and how much it is endangering the country,” Schiff said on NBC’s Meet the

Press. “Those facts are going to need to come out.”

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., appeared to rule out another impeachment, arguing that the Senate would not conduct a fair trial.

“We litigated the question of impeachment,” Jeffries said. “Donald Trump is impeached and forever will be.”

Jeffries, chairman of the Democratic caucus and one of the impeachment managers who presented the charges against Trump in the Senate trial, also criticized Bolton for refusing to testify in the House’s impeachment inquiry.

“He is a political opportunist and a profiteer; he had the opportunity to step forward,” Jeffries said on ABC’s

This Week. “And he declined.” Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said Bolton should have testified under oath in the House’s impeachment inquiry so that he could have been cross-examined on the explosive details of his memoir.

Scott criticized Bolton for selling a book to “monetize his national security clearance.”

“I do wish Mr. Bolton would have come into the House, under oath, and testified,” Scott said on This Week.

“We would have more information about fact patterns that he suggests are true.”

During the Senate impeachment trial, however, Scott voted with nearly the entire Republican caucus against calling Bolton as a witness.

Bolton