As New York Times reported, referencing John Bolton’s unpublished draft manuscript, Donald Trump told his then-national security adviser to continue the aid freeze until Ukraine helped with investigations into Democrats – including former Vice President Joe Biden. The conversation allegedly occurred in August.
If true, the dialogue between Trump and Bolton would undermine the president’s key point of defense – stating that the investigations and the hold on military aid were not related.
Donald Trump, in turn, denied the new revelations in a series of late night tweets. "I NEVER told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens. In fact, he never complained about this at the time of his very public termination," he tweeted.
The seven House impeachment managers reacted with a joint statement, noting that the Times’ article has only confirmed "what we already know."
"There can be no doubt now that Mr. Bolton directly contradicts the heart of the President's defense and therefore must be called as a witness at the impeachment trial of President Trump," the statement said, adding "There is no defensible reason to wait until his book is published, when the information he has to offer is critical to the most important decision Senators must now make — whether to convict the President of impeachable offenses."
John Bolton has earlier stated he is willing to testify if issued a subpoena.