Donald Trump has taken the disturbing viewpoint that he can force members of his administration, past and present, to not respond to subpoenas sent out during his impeachment hearing. That is a crime, and here is what will happen next.
The Democratically-led House committees have subpoenaed president’s former national security adviser John Bolton and his aide to testify before them. Instead of complying Monday, Bolton’s attorney filed a lawsuit on behalf of both of them to determine whether the Legislative Branch or the Executive Branch has the law on its side.
Intelligence Committee Chair Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) and spearhead of the impeachment hearing threatened former White House official Charles Kupperman with contempt of Congress when he was a no-show Monday. In a YouTube news briefing, Schiff said Bolton’s national security adviser was treading on thin ice, because he refused to testify even though he received a subpoena from the committee. Both men share an attorney.
Even though Kupperman was not there, Schiff indicated that the committee would “move forward:”
‘We will obviously consider, as we informed Dr. Kupperman’s counsel, his failure to appear as evidence that may warrant a contempt proceeding against him.
‘My guess is they are going to fight us having John Bolton in.’
Schiff said that Bolton was:
‘[A] very important witness … He has a wealth of information and we do want him to come in and testify.’
Trump fired Bolton last month, and he appears to be an important witness for the impeachment hearings. The House committees believe that he could reveal the president’s corrupt Ukrainian actions. His aide, Kupperman would could verify some of that information.
The man in the Oval Office sent his private attorney Rudy Giuliani to Ukraine along with his two indicted thugs. They were there to dig up dirt on former vice president Joe Biden’s son. Hunter Biden served on the board of a Ukrainian utility company while his father was in office. The investigation exonerated both men, but Trump wanted another investigation that would produce a different result.
Schiff noted that Bolton’s former aide Fiona Hill had already testified. She told the inquiry that he was very concerned by Giuliani’s rogue action in Ukraine.
John Bolton reportedly said:
‘I am not part of whatever drug deal.
He also called Giuliani:
‘A hand grenade who’s going to blow everybody up.’
Vice President Mike Pence delivered Trump’s severe message to the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. If the new president did not comply with the U.S. president’s wishes, the administration would withhold the $391 million in direly-needed military aide. Indeed, they did freeze the funds for several months as Ukrainians fought against the Russian invasion and died.
In addition, the U.S. president would not meet with Ukraine’s president until he had publically announced that he had opened an investigation into Biden and his son, according to The Guardian:
‘Democrats have been pursuing impeachment by and large for the past three years. What the American people have seen in the last 12 hours … is that President Trump has never stopped fighting to keep the promises we made in the election in 2016.
‘[T]here was no quid pro quo – the president did nothing wrong.’
Another member of the House Intelligence Committee Eric Swalwell (D-CA) spoke to Fox News about the ISIS raid, noting it would make no difference to the impeachment hearing. He said:
‘We still expect the president to carry out his duties and we are going to continue to hold him to account. This can be compartmentalized. We are not concerned about what he did with this Isis raid, we are concerned with the extortion scheme that it looks like he led with the Ukrainians.’
Former chief of chief John Kelly said he had warned Trump about impeachment:
‘Whatever you do, don’t hire a ‘yes man’ – someone who won’t tell you the truth. because if you do, I believe you will be impeached”.
White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham released a statement that read:
‘I worked with John Kelly, and he was totally unequipped to handle the genius of our great president.’
Earlier in October, acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney admitted before rolling TV cameras that there had been a quid pro quo, a favor granted in return for a request. He later tried to rescind his comment, but it was too late. Since then, Mulvaney has kept out of sight.
The president released a statement to CNN that read:
‘John Kelly never said that … If he would have said that I would have thrown him out of the office.’
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
