ZEKE MILLER Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton said Monday that he is “prepared to testify” if he is subpoenaed by the Senate in its impeachment trial.

Bolton, who left the White House in September, said that he has weighed the issues of executive privilege and that after “careful consideration and study” decided that he would comply with a Senate subpoena.

“I have concluded that, if the Senate issues a subpoena for my testimony, I am prepared to testify," he said in a statement.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has publicly expressed resistance to calling new witnesses in the trial, though Democrats are pressing to hear from Bolton and others who did not appear before the House's inquiry in the upcoming proceedings.

Bolton's statement comes as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is stalling House-passed articles of impeachment against Trump in a bid to get new witnesses to testify. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has proposed calling several witnesses, including Bolton, but McConnell has so far rejected Schumer's terms.

It is unclear when Pelosi will eventually release the articles. If she decides to do so in the coming days, a Senate trial could start as soon as this week.

“We can’t hold a trial without the articles,” McConnell tweeted Monday. “The Senate’s own rules don’t provide for that. So, for now, we are content to continue the ordinary business of the Senate while House Democrats continue to flounder. For now.”

Share:
More In Politics
'Momentous Step': Trump Signs U.S.-China Phase One Trade Deal
President Trump signed a so-called "phase one" trade deal with China on Wednesday, signaling a détente in a protracted trade war that resulted in hundreds of billions of dollars of tariffs being exchanged on exports between the world's two largest economies over the better part of two years.
Green Energy Coalition Dives Back in After White House Killed Key Tax Credits
Weeks after the White House unexpectedly derailed a bipartisan tax deal for electric vehicles, offshore wind energy, and other major green priorities, dozens of emissaries from the nation’s renewable energy industries and environmental advocacy groups are gathering in the nation’s capital to begin charting their green-energy push for 2020 — and to dissect what went wrong in the final hours of its 2019 influence campaign.
Load More