‘There was no discussion of ‘personal favors’ or ‘undue influence’ on investigations…’
(Claire Russel, Liberty Headlines) The Justice Department accused former national security adviser John Bolton of “grossly” mischaracterizing his conversations with President Trump in his unreleased memoir.
The New York Times reported last week that Bolton alleged Trump directly tied the freeze on Ukrainian military assistance to the country’s impending investigations into corruption, but the DOJ says this is not true.
“While the Department of Justice has not reviewed Mr. Bolton’s manuscript, the New York Times‘ account of this conversation grossly mischaracterizes what Attorney General Barr and Mr. Bolton discussed,” Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement. “There was no discussion of ‘personal favors’ or ‘undue influence’ on investigations, nor did Attorney General Barr say that the President’s conversations with foreign leaders was improper.”
Trump has also disputed Bolton’s account, calling it a “nasty & untrue book.”
Why didn’t John Bolton complain about this “nonsense” a long time ago, when he was very publicly terminated. He said, not that it matters, NOTHING!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2020
Democrats have demanded the Senate hear from Bolton in the impeachment trial, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Republicans this week he is confident that he has the votes to block the Democrats’ request.
“I think I can say the mood is good,” said Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., after his meeting with McConnell. “If I had to guess, no witnesses. We’ll be in a place where I think everyone is going to have their mind made up and I believe that we’ll be able to move to a verdict, and the witness question will be clear at that point.”
Trump allies have also accused Bolton of coordinating with the media by leaking his memoir to the New York Times — an allegation Bolton’s team has denied.