Lawyer: Bolton has more Ukraine info
Letter suggests he will testify before Congress if judge orders
WASHINGTON — Former national security adviser John Bolton was “part of many relevant meetings and conversations” pertaining to the House impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump that are not yet public, his lawyer said Friday.
Charles Cooper made the revelation in a letter that suggests Mr. Bolton will appear before Congress only if a judge orders him to do so.
The letter, addressed to the top lawyer for the House of Representatives, seeks to distinguish Mr. Bolton and former deputy Charles
Kupperman from other current and former White House officials who have testified so far to impeachment investigators. The letter says Mr. Bolton and Mr. Kupperman, unlike the other witnesses, provided direct advice to Mr. Trump regularly and would be asked during any congressional appearance to disclose sensitive foreign policy and national security information.
“After all, Dr. Kupperman was the Deputy National Security Advisor to the President throughout the period to your inquiry,” the letter states. “The same is true, of course, of Ambassador Bolton, who was the National Security Advisor to the President, and who was personally involved in many of the events, meetings, and conversations about which you have already received testimony, as well as many relevant meetings and conversations that have not yet been discussed in the testimonies thus far.”
Mr. Kupperman was subpoenaed as part of the impeachment inquiry but sued House Democrats and the Trump administration. He asked a judge to decide which directive he must follow — one from Congress to testify, the other from the White House telling him not to. Mr. Bolton has not been subpoenaed. Lawmakers scheduled a Thursday interview with Mr. Bolton, but he did not show.
Mr. Cooper represents both Mr. Bolton and Mr. Kupperman.
“As I emphasized in my previous responses to letters from the House Chairs, Dr. Kupperman stands ready, as does Ambassador Bolton, to testify if the Judiciary resolves the conflict in favor of the Legislative Branch’s position respecting such testimony,” Mr. Cooper wrote.