House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler on Sunday dismissed the idea of pursuing impeachment against President Trump based on the new claims in former National Security Advisor John Bolton’s book.
Mr. Nadler, New York Democrat, pointing out the upcoming 2020 election and Senate Republicans approach to the last impeachment, said trying to charge the president would not be worth the effort.
“I believe the president has done a number of impeachable things, including what Mr. Bolton is talking about,” Mr. Nadler said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “That would at this point be a waste of time.”
Mr. Trump was impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in the House, but acquitted of all charges in the Senate — both on stark party-line votes.
The latest leaks from the book include allegations President Trump pushed the importance of agricultural trade on his reelection campaign to Chinese President Xi and praised China’s plan to build “concentration camps.”
Mr. Bolton’s allegations made him a key player in the impeachment case against Mr. Trump in January, as the earliest leaks reportedly asserted Mr. Trump told him military aid to Ukraine was being blocked until that country turned over information on former Vice President Joseph R. Biden and on whether Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election.
Despite the criticism levied at Mr. Bolton, some Democrats are taking his allegations seriously and some are raising the idea of pursuing a subpoena now.
Mr. Nadler was hesitant to embrace those calls.
“We’re not interested in Bolton’s testimony,” he said, though he later walked that back and left the door open with a “We’ll see.”
He defended the Democrats’ decision to focus their case on Ukraine, despite Mr. Bolton’s book accusing them of “malpractice” for not broadening the scope of the investigation.
“The fact is the president could have been impeached on other grounds too, including obstruction of justice in the Russia investigation. We chose to keep it simple,” Mr. Nadler said. “Bolton, who has — as we now know — had evidence that he could have offered and refused to offer, is certainly no one to talk.”
Democrats received criticism for not pursuing a subpoena for Mr. Bolton, who said he would not cooperate with the House, in order to proceed quickly in the impeachment process.
Senate Democrats used Mr. Bolton’s information to ramp up pressure on vulnerable Senate Republicans to support their push for key witnesses, which did not succeed.
The Trump defense team rallied against the allegations in Mr. Bolton’s book, and attempted to block its release. A judge ruled Saturday the book could move forward, but Mr. Bolton could still face legal issues for allowing publication without final national security approval.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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