{"articles":[{"reaction_config":[{"text":"Yes","color":"#624960","stance":"yes"},{"text":"Maybe","color":"#edb723","stance":"maybe"},{"text":"No","color":"#4ac6ec","stance":"no"}],"id":40439,"title":"John Bolton Will Testify in Impeachment Trial if Senate Issues Subpoena – Do You Want to Hear From Him?","html_content":"

by Axios | 1.6.20

Former national security adviser John Bolton said Monday that he would testify in President Trump's impeachment trial should the Senate issue a subpoena.

Why it matters, via Axios' Jonathan Swan: Bolton was the most prolific note-taker at the top level of the White House and probably has more details than any impeachment inquiry witness, so far, about President Trump's machinations on Ukraine.

\"Bolton was a voracious note-taker, in every meeting,\" said a source who attended numerous meetings with him.
While others sat and listened in meetings with Trump, Bolton distinguished himself by filling legal pads with contemporaneous notes on what was said in the room.
Trump's former top Russia expert Fiona Hill testified in the House impeachment inquiry that Bolton had concerns about pressuring Ukraine to investigate the president's political opponents, and that he told her to alert White House lawyers.

Our thought bubble, via Axios' Margaret Talev: This development suggests Bolton has something to say — and wants to say it.

But it's not necessarily clear that what he says will help Democrats. Even if he disagreed with Trump's decision to withhold military aid from Ukraine, he may not believe it is impeachment-worthy
Regardless, this — plus the U.S. strike on Iranian general Qasem Soleimani — has put Bolton, a noted Iran hawk, squarely back in the news and in the driver's seat, to some extent.

The intrigue: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) dismissed Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) call last month to have four White House witnesses, including Bolton, testify in the Senate's impeachment trial.

McConnell argued that it was the House's \"duty to investigate\" and that the Senate will not volunteer its time for a \"fishing expedition.\"
Bolton expressing his willingness to testify will be sure to cause Senate Democrats to put even more pressure on McConnell — and, perhaps more importantly, a group of swing Senate Republicans — to consider allowing him to speak.

What to watch: A simple majority in the Senate — which currently consists of 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats or independents — is needed to call impeachment witnesses. Expect moderate Republicans like Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) to face pressure.

What he's saying:

\"The House has concluded its Constitutional responsibility by adopting Articles of Impeachment related to the Ukraine matter. It now falls to the Senate to fulfill its Constitutional obligation to try impeachments, and it does not appear possible that a final judicial resolution of the still-unanswered Constitutional questions can be obtained before the Senate acts.

\"Accordingly, since my testimony is once again at issue, I have had to resolve the serious competing issues as best I could, based on careful consideration and study. I have concluded that, if the Senate issues a subpoena for my testimony, I am prepared to testify.\"

A spokesperson for Bolton declined to comment when asked if he would comply with a House subpoena.

Go deeper: Trump aides fear John Bolton's secret notes

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Since the day you were born, that’s always been on the cards. Most of us find it easier to bury our heads in the sand. Avoidance is the #1 most popular coping strategy in the world. We live in denial of the self-evident fact that we all die eventually. The Stoics believed that when we’re confronted with our own mortality, and grasp its implications, that can change our perspective on life quite dramatically. Any of us could die at any moment. Life doesn’t go on forever. If you say that you won't vote in the general election if your candidate doesn't win the nomination, you're saying to millions of people you think their suffering is an appropriate price for your righteous indignation.\nThere is NO moral justification for sitting out this election. IRL I am an environmental hydrogeologist. I specialize in municipal stormwater management and karst groundwater systems. You can deny the effects of anthropogenic forced global climate change all day, but when your water well salts up, your streets and yards flood, or your house falls in a sinkhole or gets crushed by a landslide you will be calling me for help like I am the GD Batman.","twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":"burrkitty","issue_count":145,"is_following":null,"influence_score":15350,"influence_level":40,"follower_count":522,"following_count":41,"position_count":1000,"id":"8mrvqvpm","partner_id":null},{"name":"NoHedges","vote_count":931,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/8mrvdyDm/large_8mrvdydm-1592097359.jpg","small":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/8mrvdyDm/small_8mrvdydm-1592097359.jpg","tiny":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/8mrvdyDm/tiny_8mrvdydm-1592097359.jpg","facebook":"https://graph.facebook.com/100000167747050/picture"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/8mrvdyDm/following","followers":"/api/users/8mrvdyDm/followers"},"about_me":"Unless someone like us cares a whole awful lot,\nNothing is going to get better. No, it is not!","twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/keri-lamle","slug":"nohedges","issue_count":135,"is_following":null,"influence_score":8390,"influence_level":40,"follower_count":191,"following_count":482,"position_count":887,"id":"8mrvdyDm","partner_id":null},{"name":"Joanne ","vote_count":362,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/zm8wROXZ/large_zm8wroxz-1583291005.jpg","small":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/zm8wROXZ/small_zm8wroxz-1583291005.jpg","tiny":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/zm8wROXZ/tiny_zm8wroxz-1583291005.jpg"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/zm8wROXZ/following","followers":"/api/users/zm8wROXZ/followers"},"about_me":null,"twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":null,"issue_count":0,"is_following":null,"influence_score":2700,"influence_level":30,"follower_count":106,"following_count":13,"position_count":274,"id":"zm8wROXZ","partner_id":"efa417af-11b4-4a08-9b10-fff245626400"},{"name":"G","vote_count":167,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-with-flags.png","small":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-with-flags.png","tiny":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-with-flags.png"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/W2oXlRre/following","followers":"/api/users/W2oXlRre/followers"},"about_me":"","twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":null,"issue_count":26,"is_following":null,"influence_score":270,"influence_level":20,"follower_count":9,"following_count":2,"position_count":126,"id":"W2oXlRre","partner_id":null},{"name":"jimK","vote_count":569,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/9odrQBnb/large_9odrqbnb-1557000969.jpg","small":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/9odrQBnb/small_9odrqbnb-1557000969.jpg","tiny":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/9odrQBnb/tiny_9odrqbnb-1557000969.jpg"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/9odrQBnb/following","followers":"/api/users/9odrQBnb/followers"},"about_me":"Retired, Politically Independent. Won’t listen to slogans, chanted mantras or generally any kind of marketing spin or “rebranding” crap. I firmly believe that everyone else is entitled to their erroneous opinions. Citizen vigilance and due diligence is price we must pay to live in a thriving, functional democracy.\nI fear that our citizens are too easily swayed by politician’s pablum about “babies”, “jobs” and now, in particular, perceived “enemies”. I fear that a citizenry focused on the “here-and-now” is easily tricked by short term benefits that have negative long-term consequences. I fear that our legislators are more concerned about buffing their constituents than looking out for the long-term welfare of our country- and are way too eager to provide those short-term benefits to the “here-and-now” crowd.\nI fear that honor is generally being sacrificed/replaced by expediency. I hear politicians eloquently argue for one side of an issue and later, when it’s to their benefit, just as eloquently argue for the opposite side. OK, so they are good at arguing- but what is that they actually believe? What is it that they actually stand for? An honorable person has values that persist even when it is not convenient or expedient. An honorable person has a moral compass that stops them from doing something wrong even if it is not illegal. A foul is a foul- even if the referee doesn’t catch you.\nI fear that each of our federal governmental branches have devised or discovered shortcuts which tend to protect them from the checks and balances our founders intended.","twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":"jimk","issue_count":4,"is_following":null,"influence_score":48240,"influence_level":40,"follower_count":1631,"following_count":88,"position_count":566,"id":"9odrQBnb","partner_id":null}],"article_comment":{"flagged":false,"id":1155769,"body":"Bolton is asking the Senate to subpoena him, so he feels free to testify. Please McConnell do as he asks, after all isn’t he one of your guys, someone whose opinion you have always respected in the past, what’s the problem here.","parent_type":"Article","parent_id":40439,"created_at":"2020-01-06T22:08:22.057Z","liked":false,"like_count":5,"links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/comments/1155769","likers":"https://www.causes.com/api/v1/likers?likeable_id=1155769&likeable_type=Comment"},"article_id":40439,"shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/comments/1155769.png","note":{"text":"Yes","color":"#624960","stance":"yes"},"note_text":"Yes","note_color":"#624960","user_id":"5mbpjA7W","liker_ids":["8mrvqvpm","8mrvdyDm","zm8wROXZ","W2oXlRre","9odrQBnb"]}}

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