Former National Security Adviser John R. Bolton on Monday declined to say he’d comply with a subpoena if called by congressional Democrats to testify, saying it’s up to them as to how they want to proceed.
“Let’s see what they decide to do,” Mr. Bolton said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “The primary way we rein presidents in is not through impeachment — it’s through elections.”
He said Democrats “mishandled” the impeachment process “badly.”
“What they do next, obviously, is up to them,” Mr. Bolton said.
Mr. Bolton is out with a new book this week that makes explosive allegations about President Trump. Among other things, he writes that Mr. Trump prodded Chinese President Xi Jinping to help boost his reelection campaign through trade policy and that the president signed off on Mr. Xi’s plans to build detention camps for the country’s Uighur Muslim population.
Mr. Trump and administration officials such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have dismissed Mr. Bolton as a liar.
“They call names, they deny, but they’re not willing to face up to what the real facts are,” Mr. Bolton said.
Congressional Democrats have cast Mr. Bolton as an opportunist but are now weighing whether to try to compel him to testify about some of the allegations.
Mr. Bolton declined to testify willingly during the impeachment process and now says his testimony would not have made a difference in the ultimate outcome.
The Democratic-led House voted to impeach Mr. Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in December, saying the president abused his office by trying to prod Ukraine to dig up dirt on Democratic rival Joseph R. Biden, now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
The GOP-led Senate voted in February to acquit the president.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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