Republicans need some kind of extended release inner moral compass therapeutic.... similar to other therapeutics used by mainly older white males, but here to allow their moral rectitude to stay firm for more than a measly 12-24 hours. Some: fear-of-Bolton-like substance. Republicans on Tuesday and more so on Wednesday already grow torpid and are losing desire to have witnesses for the impeachment trial, and refuse again to give some semblance of a trial that you or I would go through. It was just Sunday night into Monday we saw an impressive rise in Republican resolve to have witnesses. Now, no Republican is sending the idea of witnesses up the flagpole, and it is increasingly clear not one member of the GOP would salute.
3
The only reason a Republican would vote to have Bolton testify is to enable that Senator to claim, duplicitously, they had made every effort to hear all the evidence before rendering a carefully considered verdict. Of course, such an argument would be rank hypocrisy. The truth: each and every one of them made up their minds long ago………..before any Articles of Impeachment were drafted.
As for last laughs? That will be had by rational Americans, if and when Trump is defeated in November; a defeat that Trump will claim was everyone’s fault but his own. Amen.
5
You cannot reconstruct Bolton one of the hawks that started the war in Mid East and the hawk that wanted to take US in a war with Iran.
2
Are we living in an alternate universe? Trump and company is getting the last laugh and Bolton is getting book sales. The monster that is going to be created when Trump gets acquitted should scare any thinking person. Trump's victory lap will be earth scattering and world changing. We the people need to get the last laugh by defeating the modern day strongman called Trump. Four more years of an unbridled Trump will be devastating.
9
All this process does is disgust me. We have a president elected by a stark minority of voters. We have a Congress — especially a Senate — elected by a minority electorate. Two senators a state regardless of population; a House gerrymandered toward the political minority in this country beyond all reason. Yet, majority rule in the impeachment trial is suddenly rediscovered! Rules bent into a pretzel by this minority-elected “fake” majority that makes this so-called trial a travesty. The minority-elected president refuses to honor legally imposed subpoenas for witnesses and documents then gets to argue with a straight face that the lack of those witnesses and documents exonerates him. As a member of this country’s majority (75% of us at last polling), I get nothing — no representation and no satisfaction. Talk about taxation without representation!
8
Now Trump is trying to block publication of Bolton’s book on the grounds that it exposes classified national security information. Is this the first step in a Putin-style shutdown of publishers, newspapers, journalists deemed by our stable genius as “enemies of the people” —soon to be followed by the jailing of political opponents?
6
All of the focus on Bolton obscures the impossible to spin documents Trump holds under lock and key; Mulvaney perhaps a more vulnerable and telling witness than Bolton. Missing the downfall of Alan Dershowitz the security blanket or fig leaf for vulnerable Senators warrants criticism.
What Bolton describes and Mulvaney admitted combined with perfect phone call and Trump on the south lawn wherein lies the mystery? What part of the puzzle missing? Arguably Trump's conduct eerily close to bribery and or extortion.
The GOP Senators hopeless. Facts clear evidence abundant. Go ahead and vote against additional documents and witnesses; vote to acquit and put the soap operas back on. Stop the agonizing over trashing your oaths of office and pledges to dispense justice. All rings so hollow anyway. Blame it on Alan.
2
If you're following the "trial" in the Senate, you'd realize that Trump is getting the last laugh for the time being. But in November, maybe we'll have a sigh of relief at least, if not a last laugh
1
In all the disruption and upset on both sides that this causes, I like looking from time to time, to what the future could hold for us instead. Just as important as voting-in ethical leadership, is understanding endless growth may actually be hurting our economy—and our planet. Please consider the work of economist Kate Raworth, who makes a compelling case for “doughnut economics”: an alternative way to look at the economic systems ruling our societies and imagine a sustainable future for all. Can’t wait for President Sanders to bring her influence into our national perspective. ::closing my eyes for some self-care and a delightful, delicious, deep breath:: Please join me for a moment in knowing we will find a way to get through this together.
3
One can only hope that Bolton will either testify under oath or have a press conference in which he spills the beans completely. This would be his revenge on Trump for his dismissal but also a matter of principle for him. I detest the policies that Bolton stands for and consider him to be a warmonger. His world view is both shocking and frightening. However, he has stayed true to his opinions and not shifted them for expediency's sake. He did caution his staff about Giuliani and whatever drug deal he was cooking up, advising that they remove themselves and go straight to the lawyers in the department. There is no way he will lie or obfuscate now for Trump. It is Shakespearean that he should expose his lies and self-dealing as well as the cynical sycophancy of the GOP reps and senators. They seem to be in competition to find the depth of bottom feeding behaviour. Marsha Blackburn is not fit to shine Vindman's shoes. Pompeo has been exposed as the sanctimonious hypocrite that he is. One could go on and on. In the end, exposing the truth will send them home in ignominy. It could not happen to nicer people.
5
John Bolton may well get the last laugh and the Trumpublicans may well learn the joke has been on them ever since 2016. Bolton and others have the goods on Trump, but who knows what goods Trump has on the likes of Senator Graham and many other senators?
Virtually all “Republican” senators are complicit in the Trumpublican takeover of their party. They continually kowtow to the mendacious and bullying Trump, and to his blindly loyal base supporters.
Thus far in Trump’s impeachment trial, his defense team and the Trumpublican senators have demonstrated they care not one whit for evidence or truth.
It is depressing to realize that virtually no “GOP” senators will have the courage to proclaim that Trump’s Ukraine-gate shenanigans were, at the very least, a betrayal of the public trust. If these senators were committed to the rule of law and if they were minimally ethical, they would censure Trump’s actions. They would censure them even if they were later to contend that Trump’s actions did not rise to the level of impeachable offenses.
If Trump is not at least censured, this trial will set regrettable precedents. The trial’s outcome will also further enable Trump’s corrupt promotion of his own interests and, by entrenching the ugliest of the Trumpublicans, will guarantee that the scant remains of the Republican Party will disappear into the blackest of black holes.
2
I caution you, Democrats. Once again, you are placing all your hopes for justice and an end to the chaos that is Trumpism on one man.
I have two words to say to that: Robert Mueller.
1
"[Pompeo's] assessing the bargain he made and understanding how completely his ambition eclipsed his integrity."
Wait...Pompeo once had intergrity?
1
GOPers' problem. Bolton news already out. D's will spread it- AND GOPs refusal to let him testify.
GOP would be smarter to let him appear and be cross-examined.
not likely to slip, but....
Michelle Obama, your country needs you! Announce your candidacy for President so our democracy can be saved. We know you don't want the job, so pick a great Vice President and hand it off the day after the Inauguration.
2
Isn’t it trump’s prerogative to make anything he wants classified. So it seems he can claim Bolten’s entire book classified. He just might do that. Leak it before it happens.
1
Is there a penalty to all of the White House officials who ignored subpoenas? If there is not, and it's because the President instructed them not to appear, then it's obstruction--he didn't bother to intimidate them or threaten, he flat out told them not to appear, as it's been reported.
Bolton is simply one who has now said he would show up, but Mulvaney, Pompeo, and Trump himself, who wouldn't shut up about how he would love to testify and wanted a fair shake, should be telling us what they know. But the fine ladies and gentlemen that work for us in the Senate are worried about how it will affect them back home if they vote to hear the most crucial evidence--they admitted it yesterday after the "huddle" .
Just when I think we've hit bottom, I read something like that. Disgusted and saddened. If Bolton is laughing, I bet it's because he is no longer part of the most corrupt and ridiculously inept administration this country has had.
4
From farce to charade to absurdity. Somebody says they saw a draft of a book manuscript and tells the NYT. The NYT releases excerpts from this (Forthcoming! Pre-order yours now!) book in the middle of the impeachment trial to throw another "bombshell" (# 711 or so) to rescue a failing impeachment.
Suddenly Bolton is the Messiah of the Democrats, a man of great integrity whose testimony is sacrosanct and must be believed. This is a man who is so serious a warmonger that not even Trump could tolerate him and had to fire him. Adam Schiff had a chance to subpoena Bolton and passed it up, but then this is The New Glorified John Bolton, Savior of the Democrats, carrying his bombshell.
And now, once again, right in the middle of it all, we have Adam Schiff speaking with a straight face, after having lied for over two years about having evidence that Trump was a Russian asset, asking for Bolton to be subpoenaed.
You can't make this stuff up.
1
Last Laugh? Trump should never have been endorsed in the first place - didn't any of the GOP senate read the evidence files in the class action lawsuits against Trump University?
What's laughable - among many of the GOP assertions made to defend the felon-in-chief - is their assertion that he was concerned about corruption in the Ukraine.
That's the ticket! Sure! Too bad none of them were concerned that Trump and HIS offspring were in actuality simultaneously deemed by a court of law here in the United States as guilty of self-enrichment and fraud when it cam to his "charitable" foundation in New York.
Honestly, Bolton, Trump, who can't even "manage" to remove toilet paper from his shoe - are a sick joke.
1
Trump loves chaos, and when this is finished you can count on more. He's tied up our congress in knots. While they should be passing legislation to help Americans, they are caught up in the constant mayhem created by a madman. It will not cease until he is out.
2
This impeachment incident shows how impetuous, irrational, unhinged Trump is. If he didn't do anything wrong, why prevent his staff from testifying. If Bolton is lying, why not let him testify and vindicate yourself. Because you a crazy dangerous person who is charge of one of the most powerful nations on earth. How scary.
1
Bolton is a neoconservative ideologue who was one of the architects of the Iraq disaster and the torture policy. There is nothing the man can do to hide the stink of his legacy. Had Obama held the Bush era criminals accountable, Bolton would be sharing a cell with Alan Greenspan. Bolton's testimony may be politically expedient for Dems, but that doesn't make him any less morally disordered.
1
So, Bolton is "vain, brilliant and ruthless." Comparing him to Trump...two out of three.
1
Trumpland, when you set aside the social and moral devastation to be found amidst the wreckage, has always had an Alice in Wonderland feel. Up becomes down. Friends become enemies. Enemies become friends. Facts become false. False becomes facts.
Nothing, though, will ever be as personally topsy-turvy as waking up and finding myself rooting for John Bolton. A vicious, right-wing fanatic who many at the State Department will tell you was the most cruel and arrogant person they ever met.
And now I'm cheering him on.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to read up on Stalin and Idi Amin. I'm sure the moment is near when I will suddenly see them in a new light.
4
The day when liberal columnists cease to offer false hopes about Trump will, of course, be too late. Five years of this nonsense about things that are going to put an end to the nightmare, and it just keeps pouring out of their computers. John Bolton, the savior of democratic processes? Please.
1
Bruni is condescending. Bolton will never be a ‘darling of the Democrats”. He is simply a person with a reputation for ruthless honesty and he is a witness to the president committing an impeachable offense. He should testify. If he doesn't there is no trial.
2
Bolton will be known as one of the people that got us into the never ending war in the ME or he will be known as the guy that saved our country.
What a twist for a twisted political party, once known as the GOP.
Now they're GeeOhPee Tea Party.
2
Come November, citizens voting Democrat will get the last laugh.
1
Why does nobody ask this simple question: Does the president have a fiduciary duty to the country in carrying out foreign policy, and if not (despite financial managers, advisers, lawyers, and most other roles entailing reposing of special trust, imposing "fiduciary" responsibility), why not?
https://harvardlawreview.org/2019/06/faithful-execution-and-article-ii
2
Bolton may be planning his own presidential run.
1
He might be the right-wing’s right-wing nut, but he’s my first-hand witness, and I’m sticking with him.
"Last Laugh?" I don't hear anyone laughing, including Mr. Bolton.
1
Why are Democrats always so eager to take sucker bets? Bet on Comey? That'll finish Trump for sure. Bet on Mueller? Trump's toast. Bet on testimony from the House impeachment hearings? He's going down. Now let's bet on Bolton, this time it'll be different? No, it won't. The only way to get rid of this creature is to vote him and every one of his Republican thugs, sycophants and criminals out of office. Every. Last. One. And that means you have to vote Democratic, from dogcatcher to president, no matter whether their candidate is Sanders or Bloomberg, or anybody in between. No third party protest vote, no staying home with your head under the covers. The alternative is fascism, plain and simple.
3
He won’t forget Ivanka. Don’t you remember when he said he would date her if she wasn’t his daughter? Disgusting low for anyone,UCB less the leader of our country.
1
This is a copy of an email I just sent to Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin at his website: I received notification that the Website was DOWN, UNDERGOING ROUTINE REPAIRS.
?? Right, sure it is. It's like we are living in Soviet Russia, with no interest in Republicans to serve the people or live up to their oath of office.
Dear Senator Johnson,
As you know, no trial is fairly conducted without calling witnesses and listening to testimony to the facts. Please vote to allow testimony of John Bolton, and the many others, including yourself in order that justice will be served and our Constitution will be protected. If you decide not to call witnesses, then our republic will have become a dictatorship, with Trump defying the will of the people, Congress, the Courts, and the Constitution. Why support a military to prevent a takeover of the United States by dictators, when you, your Republican Party and Trump, by denying testimony, have allowed the United States to become, not a democracy, but a dictatorship. You have a choice, Senator, uphold your sworn oath to the Constitution and conduct a fair trail by calling witnesses to testify. My grandfather didn't fight in WWI, my father and uncle didn't fight in WWII, my brother didn't fight and was killed in Vietnam, and I didn't serve over 20 years in the military to have the United States be overrun by a dictatorship of your and Republican Party's doing!
Sincerely
xxxxxxxx
Citizen of Wisconsin
3
Adam Schiff for President 2020!
2
We will survive the Trump plague.
2
Juan Cole suggests that Bolton wants trump out of office because he believes he can convince Pence to attack Iran.
https://www.juancole.com/2020/01/presidency-bolton-really.html
Republicans just outed the whistleblower on national TV. They may just as well have issued an illegal Fatwa against the whistleblower to their rabid and violent Republican constituents.
We are a country of laws; whistleblower protection is to make sure we are a country of laws. The wrongdoing is not being a whistleblower; the wrongdoing is to threaten and chill whistleblowing.
Like a criminal gang, Republicans don't care about law-breaking; they only care about people who rat them out. Despicable.
3
My God! Republicans' arguments are SO weak. I can't believe Dershowitz. He seems to be trying to convince himself, instead of trying to convince others. Enough is enough America. Impeach that president, and get rid of all those Republican sycophants!!!
I never thought that the US would come to this. Look at the country. We have never experienced anything like this.
2
"Ivanka beware. You're one bad manicure away from paternal amnesia. " Darn, Mr. Bruni, you're good.
2
What do John Bolton, Kenneth Starr and Alan Dershowitz all have in common ? Answer: They shamelessly want to appear relevant.
One difference is that Bolton wants to exact revenge, stuff his pockets with money and laugh all the way to the bank- a fitting end for the cannibals who occupy the Republican party.
They all deserve each other, here's hoping they all eat each other.
1
This is not a smart man. He will make a flash now, he will be used by others and he will be cast off as a turncoat.
Not a smart man. That's not getting the last laugh Frank. That's just being overly ego-ed and ultimately dumb.
"Bolton, meanwhile, is probably feeling pretty content....and has positioned himself on the right side of history..." I wouldn't say that because Don rewrites history everyday in his head. He may see such a huge threat in Bolton that he declares (his legal right) him a terrorist and sends a couple of Hellfire missiles into his car. If I were Bolton, I'd be hanging out in the basement for a while.
1
In his list of people trump "didn't know" Mr. Bruni forgot "coffee boy" Papadopoulos.
2
Brilliant, Mr. Bruni! Thank you.
Bolton is a neocon hack who led the US to war under false pretenses. He’s simply the latest in a long line of republican white men who will fail to meet their own low standards for courage and integrity. Comey, Roberts, McConnell, Romney, Ryan, Kelly. Please give me a break.
1
What kind of self-professed patriot holds onto information like this to protect a book deal?
Do you trust Bolton?
Should you?
I don’t.
1
Bolton is a reprehensible neo-con who helped George W. Bush con the country into going to war in Iraq. We'd be at war all over the world if Bolton had is way. The only reason he is playing this witness charade is to sell his book. He is Republican through and through: a liar, probably a thief, definitely a man with neither conscience nor shame, in short, a Republican.
2
My how times have changed.
When Bolton was chosen, the Democrats howled that he was a dangerous warmonger. Now, he is a heroic truth teller.
1
“Ivanka, beware. You’re one bad manicure away from paternal amnesia.”
Thanks for the chuckle, Frank. I needed that.
1
What was Bolton doing in Qatar this week?
1
Stepford Senate.
3
Bolton knows that revenge is a dish better served cold.
Exactly William McCain. If you are a democrat and don't watch anything but liberal news than go watch Tucker Carlson on Fox News.
The NYT might be laughing with Bolton but Melody Townsel certainly isn't.
Melody Townsel described his behavior in a 2005 letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when he was under consideration for the UN Ambassador position.
'Mr. Bolton proceeded to chase me through the halls of a Russian hotel — throwing things at me, shoving threatening letters under my door and, generally, behaving like a madman,' she wrote.
'John Bolton hounded me in such an appalling way that I eventually retreated to my hotel room and stayed there. Mr. Bolton, of course, then routinely visited me there to pound on the door and shout threats,' she added.
Do the #MeToo Police need to be called, Frank?
2
What's with the"one bad manicure away" sneer at Ivanka Trump? Sexism isn't cute.
John Bolton, Liberal Hero. Words fail.
1
And now it's Good Old Bolton, the savior.
Three little words for people who naively believe that the enemy of their enemy is their friend: Osama. Bin. Laden.
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
1
Excellent assessment of a cesspool of bloated egoists.
Bomb Iran, then Bolton will go away quietly.
Why doesn't Bolton just get on a news show and spill it? No supena needed, no other witnesses called.
Sorry, but Bolton reminds me of a guy who threw his country under the bus for a book deal.
1
John Bolton:
From much-reviled hawk to American hero.
The New York Times hated this guy, until he turned on Trump.
Now he's the second coming of Mother Teresa.
No wonder they point at you and say 'fake news'.
Bolton.....chicken-hawk warmonger......wants to bomb Iran, N.K, and all the other boogie-men out there. But will he go to war with trump? It's time to put-up or shut-up tough guy.
you really don't know what Bolton is going to say. I remember the New York Times gleefully crowing every other day for two years (it seemed) about how the Mueller investigation was going to shut down trump's antidemocratic juggernaut. We all know what didn't happen with that!
I'm sure the Times won't print this comment. They don't seem to take criticism very well.
Great column!!
Bolton adds nothing, as he he evidence of nothing but speculation and innuendo.
I love how the leftist media now loves Bolton, Romney, McCain, anyone named Bush, et.al. They despised all of these guys. Now they love them all.
The media is garbage.
1
We need the thoughtful balance prose of Charlie Blow... this piece is way too partisan..
1
The thought that Bolton has any credibility as a witness or would ever do anything to advance the cause of justice or real democracy is exponentially beyond stupid - it is clinically delusional.
1
Nixon and Kissinger .. Bolton is their energizer bunny with a semi-conscience.
1
Ho, Ho, Ho.
Who's NOT laughing?
Is there a Schadenfreude song, Frank?
1
So it revealed today that NSC notified Bolton and his lawyers and publisher that the book needed to be edited for national security reasons prior to release.
Three days later the Times publishes leaked excerpts from the book. Looks like the DOJ needs to conduct and investigation into the traitors and the Times.
Go get em Mr Attorney General.
John Bolton called Trump a liar.
John Kelly called Trump a liar.
EVERYONE in America (if not everyone on Planet Earth) knows that Trump is a liar.
2
As I attempt to witness the Trump defense team in action, I can't help noting the remarkable similarity to watching hookers ply their wares-- and 2nd-rate hookers at that, quite obviously not Park Avenue demi-mondaines, but more like 42nd Street rough trade, whose feeble come-ons would lure no porn-seeking tourist, nor randiest GI on shore leave. The pathos of their presentations is everywhere apparent at this trial. But even more pathetic is the attempted defenses and self-justifications of the GOP senators on their hallway breaks. They are only fooling themselves, and that despicably-- certainly not the American voter.
1
Bolton "has the goods" on Trump. Going on four years now, according to the endless fantasies of the liberal/leftys and their press, i.e. NYT, about every week someone new has the "goods" on Trump and any minute now his presidency is going to end and he will be removed from office or be in jail. In the meantime, Trump's approval numbers continue to be toward the top-end during his time in office. Sorry libs but you're not going to win the November election in January, after the Mueller implosion all sane Americans stopped paying attention to the never-ending impending doom of Trump. All this impeachment nonsense has become nothing more than the latest yawner of a "White House crisis." Nobody cares about this nonsense anymore 10-months away from the next election, if you want Trump out of office get an electable candidate, as your collusion, well never mind, um I mean quid pro quo, um I mean, oh wait a minute the "focus groups" data suggests changing to "bribery" will do more political damage to Trump concerning the next election, so um, now it's bribery. Um , in fact let's do an impeachment now--that's the ticket! How stupid do the stupid Dems believe the American public is--enough already!
2
I find that, after all, that it is not quite implausible that Trump might be found guilty and Removed by the supermajority needed.
The damning evidence sits in the White House and the GOP senators know that; they surely know that truth will come out at the latest on 17th March.
Do they want to live in eternal disgrace? Hm, I believe enough of them will want to jump ship, and leave the remaining lying supplicants go down with Trump into the deep ocean of lies spoken by the mad king...
If Bolton testifies, don't expect him to bare his soul. Bolton will choke just like Special Counsel Marine Corps Major Robert S. Mueller III.
I don’t care how right wing you are...if you have the goods on the clown in the White House and you testify to that fact...a monument should be built in your honour
The only bolt people will remember is Bolton deserved to be canned.
He laughs at us. A intl war criminal who is feted by MSM.
1
Bolton is still the same blow-up-the-world jerk you’ve been saying he was for years! Your “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” is no different from what the Republicans do. It’s all just a power struggle between the princes, like it was in Poland 3-4 centuries ago .... until that country disappeared from the map for awhile. As Leonard Cohen said, you will not like it when America disappears.
1
The compliant Republican senators remind me of the German legislators who, while the may have loathed Hitler, went along with Nazism because of their fear of speaking out.
3
NYT is terrible when it comes to "who's getting the last laugh"
I think about politicians including former presidential candidates and that porn star lawyer.
Wow! George W Bush has made it clear he was blindsided and misled, bamboozled and betrayed, by John Bolton. So, Bolton was a terrible pick. Bolton of the WMD-fever and the "we should invade _______ anyway" (fill in the blank) permanent foreign policy attitude. So, now, when Bolton puts on a white hat, says he knows bad stuff about someone, we are going to treat him as the Voice of God and take his word for it? Somehow, it seems to me, it couldn't possibly matter if Trump discussed withholding Ukraine funds. The deadline was near September 30, and the funds were delivered before then. Anyone can discuss changing their mind -- not a crime. We should listen to Andrew Yang -- stop with the Impeachment frissons and go for the real prize: winning the election!
1
"Don’t be impressed by the possibility that now — and, I stress, only now — some Senate Republicans may press for witnesses, including Bolton, in the trial. This isn’t a stirring of conscience. It’s a cloaking of humiliation. If they ignore Bolton, their still-unshaken commitment to acquitting Trump becomes even more naked."
I think they'd have more safety in numbers -- if they ALL (well, except maybe McConnell and Graham) voted for witnesses.
As it is, their current positions remind me of a circle of elephants -- heads in, butts out -- trying to defend themselves from a predator. Not a good look.
3
Wishful thinking, Frank. Too many extremist players, including Bolton, enjoy having Trump stumble around Washington, like a twisted, useful reed in the wind, smashing traditional norms, "taking their country back". The current environment enables that ilk to operate with impunity. Examine the carnage that he projected in his infamous inaugural diatribe, that Bannon reportedly helped to pen. The inaugural speech that George W. Bush described as some weird expletive deleted. That carnage is now all around us. Many think that Bannon left, but based on my observations, his work goes on, his vision goes forth, steered by minions like Pompeo, Mulvaney, Barr, Mnuchin, Ross, McConnel and the like. Bolton to the rescue is a mirage, no different than Mueller was expected to be.
1
When you clearly see that you cannot achieve your objective (witnesses with documents) it is time to begin a strategic retreat.
Choosing where to make your battles under the most favorable conditions should be your mission.
Those that stopped the evidence from being examined will have to justify even more damning evidence later revealed.
The charge of conspirator and collaborator must be leveled.
Their stench will be too much for some voters, I hope.
Bolton needs to jump on someone’s couch. Anderson Cooper’s. Rachel Maddow’s. Chris Wallace’s . 60 Minutes. Stat...
See my thoughts on why Ukraine is SO central to Trump-Russia, why impeachment's all about Russia, Putin, Trump, the New Cold War, on Giuliani, Parnas, Biden, Nunes, Firtash, Burisma, on Trump's coopting by Kremlin & how the media falls for Russian disinfo https://realcontextnews.com/a-song-of-gas-and-politics-how-ukraine-is-at-the-center-of-trump-russia-or-ukrainegate-a-new-phase-in-the-trump-russia-saga-made-from-recycled-materials-ebook-preview-excerpt/
Vladimir Putin is laughing all the way to the Ukraine as he watches John Bolton, the fire breathing arch enemy of everything un-American, being neutered by a pack of bleating ninnies posing as guardians of democracy. At end of the day, Russia and China are the big winners because the idea of a most perfect union built on checks and balances, rule of law and all the rest of it, looks like horse manure.
I’d hate to be teaching this topic to school children; they’d laugh you right out of the classroom.
3
What a seditiously partisan cult of personality the conservative "movement" and their Republican handmaidens are. Tune in to a Christian right radio show if you want to know just how debased they have become. The hosts of those programs talk about Trump being a blessed and divine tool of god. They WORSHIP him.
The conservatives and Republicans are already character assassinating Bolton with lies. Fox and the AM radio propagandists are busy spreading the smear.
The senate conservatives and Republicans won't care what Bolton says or what evidence damning Trump is presented. They won't condemn their false deity. Still the impeachment should serve to convince anyone still kidding themselves about there still being reasonable and moderate Republicans (especially those in the press and media( that there aren't and that the Republican Party is now nothing if not an seditious, extremist and radical entity.
all these, these bickering, infighting, division of American politics and society looks bad from the outside, but it maybe a good thing for the world. American trying to impose its ideology onto other countries has created enough misery since the Vietnam War.
I just read a report that the White House is claiming that Bolton's manuscript contains "classified" information and therefore cannot be published - despite the fact that it was already cleared by National Security.
So, now, Trump is going to get away with banning books in our country.
Not funny. Not funny at all. No one's laughing.
1
I beg to differ. Trump and the GOP will get the last laugh. America and its institutions will never be the same.
Bolton and Trump are similar in some ways. I find it plausible that Bolton calculated that if he waited, he could say he'd testify, be sure he wouldn't be called to do so, and the publicity would be great for his book sales. He had too many other, better, more timely, opportunities to do the right thing for the country. Bolton's laughing all the way to the bank.
9
The facts are clear with or without Bolton's testimony. What is regrettable is that the majority has the votes to block witnesses as they seem to be inclined to do. I would like to thank Candidate Bloomberg for supporting that snake, Pat Toomey, from Pa to help add one more vote to the charade.
5
"Don’t be impressed by the possibility that now — and, I stress, only now — some Senate Republicans may press for witnesses, including Bolton, in the trial. This isn’t a stirring of conscience. It’s a cloaking of humiliation."
Two terms of art come to mind: "zombie senator" and "puppet senator." The former describes their lockstep march to the Party's command with every vote. The latter invokes the repetition of talking points -- with extra points for loud emotional emphasis. The talking points are right out of the disinformation playbook of blaming the opposition for the outrages you are perpetrating. This frames the "other side" of the argument and is embedded in zombie minds with endless and disciplined repetition over State media. What a sorry State we're in!
13
What I hope to see in the book is new light on the finances behind all of Trump's maneuvers. "Follow the money." If the book details financial corruption, new hearings and new indictments may be possible. Given that the book is public, there would be no way for Trump to quash testimony. Ideally, there would be impeachment witnesses in the Senate, but that may fail. In any case, this whole process is not over.
2
@Jeff
I agree. Didn't another famous American criminal get convicted of tax evasion when no other criminal charges would stick?
"John Bolton was accused of harassing a government contractor by chasing her through a hotel, 'hinting' she was a lesbian, commenting on her weight and banging on her door to shout threats."
Warning to all "progressive" Democrats: If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas, or in Latin, qui cum canibus concumbunt cum pulicibus surgent.
4
But Trump will have his people remove all the damning material from Bolton’s book before it gets published, which will be after the election.
Doesn’t freedom of the press apply to publishers of books? Simon & Schuster should publish it now.
8
Trump has indeed had convenient amnesia every time one of his associates, staff or acquaintances reveals some awkward information. Some are going to retaliate, especially if facing prosecution, such as Lev Parnas. Eventually it will be someone with even more damning information. Just what did Rudy Giuliani mean when he said he had "insurance"? Trump must dread finding out.
9
The Republicans are hell bent on cementing the coverup. How they see this as a political winner is beyond me. So is Derschowitz’s claim that anything a President does to get re-elected is in the public interest, presumably because said President thinks so highly of himself. By this logic, which Schiff characterized as “very odd”, Bill Clinton’s sexual satisfaction should also have been in the public interest.
8
I think one of the most chilling comments I've heard are from Jodi Ernst yesterday about Biden and the Iowa Caucus, “I really think it opened the eyes of not just the folks in the Senate, but many for those folks at home that were watching this afternoon. And with the Iowa caucuses coming up Feb. 3, this next Monday night, maybe it will influence some of those voters as well,” said Sen. Joni Ernst (R., Iowa). No matter how the impeachment trial turns out, Trump gets what he wants, eliminating Biden as a formidable opponent. The relish with which Sen. Ernst delivered this statement looks as if Republicans have known and wanted this all along, truth be damned.
9
"Bolton, meanwhile, is probably feeling pretty content."
Probably? Take one look at that picture of him (taken on Tuesday) at the top of this article, and you know for sure how he is feeling.
"Maybe bitterness brought him here, maybe ego, maybe this quaint old thing called patriotism."
I'm rooting for patriotism.
But maybe he just realised that when you sell your soul to the devil, you're on a highway to hell.
5
Agreed. Remember Bolton was fired by Trump. He has a terrible reputation in Washington as being ruthless, unscrupulous and mean. Maybe this is payback..or maybe true. But Bolton’s timing, to sell books is the main reason for his revelation. The world of politics just gets dirtier and dirtier.
When John Bolton comes across as the good guy in our current impeachment imbroglio, we know that we have truly jumped the shark of any debate about ethics or morality in our contemporary foreign policy. The core idea reeks of absurdity.
It's like giving Lucifer the benefit of the doubt for turning up Hell's thermostat after a hard overnight frost. He's still the Devil who never met a military misadventure he didn't like, human life be damned.
10
"It's hell when you're revealed to yourself." What a wonderful line. Thank you Mr. Bruni.
10
There are several cliches that work in this situation. "Hoisted by his own petard" is what I foresee for Trump. May all the "president's men" eventually realize they are going down to hell with him, if not now, then later. Faust has nothing on the pack that licks the commandant's boots.
8
Just curious as to who the Dems will try to blame and bury when they finally get control and everything goes south on them. I do not say that to single out the Dems as the their counterparts on the Republican side have screwed things up royally. I only say for all of the sanctimonious and self-righteous people involved in all of this which includes the media on both sides that are so quick to attack when they are not in control when things are not working and are so quick to look for others to blame when they are in control and things are still going badly.
If politicians are involved you know it cannot end well. I really feel bad for all of the hard working career staff in government who have to deal with all of this crap all of the time when all they want to do is their jobs. Having worked in government I have had the distinct displeasure to see it first hand and it did not matter which party was in control.
If Bolton testifies, whatever he says will come to naught.
But at least history will have on-record and under oath what Bolton saw and heard. That alone makes his testimony worthwhile.
9
As I read about all the machinations and hair-splitting and breathtaking hypocrisy, it's hard to believe that there's a single GOP elected official, anyone in the upper echelons of this administration, or even on the Supreme Court who cares in the least about what the truth is. God forbid that we unite around finding out and then making a honest decision. We're not just post-truth, we are post-right-and-wrong, and it terrifies me.
13
At this point in the afternoon The Times headline reads "G.O.P Leaders Express Growing Confidence They Can Block Witnesses." And this is supposed to be a good thing? Why wouldn't they want any witnesses? Of course, we know the answer to that, but I'm just wondering how they can sell this to their "base" (or anyone) as a good thing.
4
"Bolton, meanwhile, is probably feeling pretty content. He knows how badly the Trump presidency will be judged and has positioned himself on the right side of history — this time around. Maybe bitterness brought him here, maybe ego, maybe this quaint old thing called patriotism."
I find Mr. Bruni's assumptions as to Bolton's motivations and frame of mind to be presumptuous and arrogant. Only Bolton knows.
What I find so interesting about the far right, especially those whose main rational for gun ownership is their weird "coming to get us" fear of government power, is the extent to which they will support a nakedly corrupt and power-hungry president. But then again, one could never accuse conservatives of consistency...
7
Does he really? Reports are saying the Republican senators are organizing as we speak to block witnesses anyway. It's a sad thing, and not at all funny. Trump will most likely still be acquitted even if there are witnesses. It would just help people understand that the Democratic House isn't lying. Trump did indeed abuse his office in the service of Russian interests to weaken Ukraine's ability to defend itself from Russia. It's a dastardly geopolitical move with no compassion, no expression of American ideals, no leadership. It was corrupt and would have potentially let Trump lie his way to the White House in November if it weren't caught. Yet the Republican senators seem to have capitulated to Russian interests too, from McConnell's, Rubio's and Graham's receipt of payments from Russian oligarch Blavatnik to the US energy companies' alliance with global fossil fuel interests. A very small number of people are corrupting our government, but they have a lot of money and power.
153
@David Bravo. Your assessment has not received the attention it should. Putin's fingerprints are all over this entire schema. Would that we were given the time to continue to investigate and litigate. No one mentions the twenty plus phone calls and contacts tRump has had with Putin, vs. the paltry number with our dwindling number of true allies who consider tRump their confidante. I'd love to see a time line with the context of the phone calls with Putin, the content of the tweets and commentary from faux news.
28
@David - The Ukraine! Compare Trump's impeachable behavior to that of other presidents.
Franklin Roosevelt committed what is usually held to be the greatest abuse of Presidential power in the 20th Century when he ordered 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent to be imprisoned in inland internment camps with complete disregard for their 6th and 14th Amendment rights to Due Process.
If you have no idea what Due Process means, go read the 6th Amendment. They lived in wooden barracks surrounded by barbed wire with armed guards in towers.
Cheating on elections? How about the Kennedy campaign bribing Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana to turn out the needed West Virginia union vote for Kennedy. There are many instances of Kennedy's vile father Joseph spending his ill-gotten fortune to buy the nomination for his son John. This one happens to have been proven by an interview of Tina Sinatra, daughter of Frank, on a 60 Minutes telecast in 2000.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tina-sinatra-mob-ties-aided-jfk/
Lyndon Johnson, who was as crude as Trump, I believe was the worst. Needing Congressional authority to expand the Vietnam war, he used the Gulf of Tonkin hoax to convince the public that two North Vietnamese torpedo boats had attacked a U.S. Navy destroyer on espionage duty. Aircraft sent to find them found nothing, and there never had been any ships. Johnson knew this, but he used the Gulf of Tonkin resolution to send 500,000 soldiers to Vietnam. And 58,000+ came back in body bags.
2
Frank - I think it (nowhere near as cogently), you say it.
4
Yet now it appears that the trump white house is going to do everything to block the book on national security grounds. So, the last laugh is yet to be had. Nobody seems to realize, even at this late date, that trump will always play the dirtiest anyone could ever imagine. Until the dems realize that, trump is destined to win again.
9
@Baxter If they block the book, look for Bolton to be doing interviews on every news show on every channel every day. I am no John Bolton fan, but he's the consummate professional and he WILL have the last laugh on Trump one way or another.
14
Every fiber of my being would love for this to be true. However, since 2016 one thing has been consistent about Trump....he's like the hideous monster in the horror movie. Every time you think he's done, he pops up from the floor boards and grabs a victim by the throat. As the wise Yogi Berra once observed, "It ain't over till it's over!" Stay vigilant and energized through November 2020!!
18
White House threatens John Bolton. That is the latest. What ya Bolton going to do? President has supreme power and no one can dare say a word not even house which is technically co equal.
3
Bolton has yet to testify. McConnell will probably prohibit witnesses, so Bolton may never testify.
Even if he does, the GOP won't believe him. He's already been slimed by trump and his loyalists as a liar and his book just another hit job by a trump hater.
Bolton's book may reveal all. And so what? It will be after trump is acquitted, exonerated, rendered pure as the drifted snow.
At best, the book may turn some heads in the next election. At worst, it will be a big dud, like the Mueller report.
Trump is guilty. Everybody knows he's guilty, the GOP addled Senate, the base, everybody. But it doesn't matter. Murder on 5th Avenue coming up.
It doesn't matter. All bets are off. And even if you bet and win, you won't win. This rabbit hole is bottomless.
15
@George Dietz
The Senate will acquit Trump but the Court of Public Opinion will find him guilty. I think there will be a record voter turn out in November.
6
Not quite. The White House just blocked publication of this book due to national security issues. Did Bolton really believe that a former NSC leader actually publish his memoirs in the same century that he served?
3
Bolton should just get on CNN or MSNBC and say what he has to say before he is muzzled by the White House.
Pretty shocking that this administration goes to such lengths to hide the truth. It has to make us all the more determined to get to truth and makes those who are instrumental in this cover up suffer the consequences.
10
IS there any difference anymore between mobster Al Capone threatening witnesses to stay out of jail and president Trump threatening Bolton to stay in power?
12
Do not rush to give Bolton any credit yet. You never know how honest he will be given the opportunity to testify.
1
It's a real stretch to assert that Bolton is the Democrats "darling."
He and Trump are repugnant, however Bolton at this particular time has made himself a useful anti-Trump weapon. The coming Trump-Bolton clash is reminiscent of a falling out among criminals.
Thus we applaud and encourage Bolton to go after his former boss with all the vigor and viciousness he can muster.
After that, the ridiculously mustachioed lunatic can find himself an obscure rightwing think tank.
6
I only hope that the "vain, brilliant and ruthless" Bolton can prove in the Senate trial that he is also Patriotic.
7
Don't count your chickens until they're hatched.
8
Old adage. To be a good liar you have to have a short memory. Trump indeed may not remember these people because of a pathologically impared memory. He seems to lie effortlessly without a tell such as the red face test. It's tough to fake memory loss but not impossible.
6
Donald Trump is someone who is so disassociated with reality that unfortunately for citizens of the world he has learned how to deal with a narcissism that even authoritarian regimes do not have, Donald Trump has never studied history nor has he ever paid attention to a Napoleanic saying "sooner or later everyone meets their personal Waterloo" in this case it comes using the names John Bolton and yes as distasteful as he may be Lev Parnas. As a layman, you need to wonder with all of the Private, Personal meetings and calls thru private cell phones exactly what type of Bartering Services did he do with people like Putin, Erdogan, Kim Jong Un, Netanyahu, in order to receive their accolades and their complicity in possible crimes, we must not forget the Saudi Prince, how much of National Security has he disclosed to them as he is so naive and hungry for acceptance, something he can't find amongst many elites he has always been an outsider and will continue to be rejected upon his exit from the Whitehouse, Donald Trump has learned one thing during his association with Organized Crime (attending his friend John Gotti's trial numerous times, which person who has a soul deals with the likes of Gotti, DiMeo, Gravano, Castellano,)and that is to first blackmail then attack then strongarm, sound familiar, why are so many people afraid of him, tweets, Please you can counteract that, how can they love their families, their,
country, their constituents and have a conscience! Betrayal!!
6
"...and has positioned himself on the right side of history — this time around. Maybe bitterness brought him here, maybe ego, maybe this quaint old thing called patriotism......"
.....maybe a mixture of bitterness, a dollop of patriotism and a desire for strong book sales to generate money, the root of all evil.
7
The GOP is banking on the short memory of American voters
7
After Bolton’s role in the Bush administration, now we look to him for assistance in this situation...ironic, eh?
5
How bizarre that we are at a place in our country where Republicans support a president who is an obvious stool of the Russians. our president wants girls and money. that is his code of ethics. girls hate him. banks won’t lend him money. So we come to Putin, who offers both. Girls and money. In exchange for the Ukraine.
11
John Bolton's testimony about an alleged quid pro quo on investigations has been effectively nullified by the president's defense attorneys. The ability of a president to inquire about such investigations, even involving a political rival, can be of legitimate public interest under the president's duties as Chief Executive.
2
Great article. I don’t know though, despite how triumphant things seemed when the Bolton book was leaked, now it seems that republicans might be able to still block his testimony, even after all this. Time will tell!
2
Does he, though?
He's certainly brilliant. He'l be selling some hotcakes, for sure.
Though it won't really impact the eventual outcome.
3
As entertaining as it is accurate. Bravo Frank.
4
For ages you are the darling of the crowd. Yet, in the split of second, just because the boss did not like what you said, you are trashed. This describes mob behavior, not how a significant fraction of the electorate should behave in an advanced democracy.
5
Can I get a Witness?
If the shoe was on the other foot, would Republicans call a witness?
If their home was broken into and someone saw, would they call a witness?
If they saw a shooting on Fifth Avenue, would they call a witness?
If the White House was on fire, would they call a witness?
If the president was a Democrat, would they call a witness?
If all juries acted like Republican Senators, without witness, their laws are pointless.
This is not the America I am proud of, this is the America that I fear….
Can I get a Witness?
11
It seems like voting against witnesses that the senators could cross examine is a weak strategy when 75% of the voting public would like the senate to call some witnesses, whomever they are. Democrats running for POTUS can showcase Trump's deep state cronyism and cover-up machine...
5
Bolton will never be made to testify. If he could exonerate Trump the Republicans would have already subpoenaed him.
7
Can we please stop repeating the nonsense that trump insisted on investigating Biden because he was worried about corruption in Ukraine?
Biden may be an issue of US corruption. It is not about Ukraine corruption.
Also remember, trump was not "worried" in 2017 nor 2018 and did not become "worried" until Joe Biden become trump's leading contender. And then only until the whistle blower.
Defies belief. Except to the corrupt Republican party.
10
Let it lie. Let what he won't say be more effective than having him toy with the prosecution under oath.
2
John Bolton will not testify.
Mitch has the votes and this whole trial is one more nail in our democracy.
The Republican senators are hitched to the president’s fantasy whims and corrupt intentions. They will deny witnesses because they are doomed if they do and doomed if they don’t. Therefore, they will stick with this corrupt man.
Bolton’s book will be out one way or the other. It will get out. The Republicans will then have to explain their vote but it won’t matter because they know at least the president won’t tweet something terrible at them. They will have been spared the wrath of Trump.
For these spineless senators that is a win.
Americans must not let these senators off the hook. We must hold them accountable and show our wrath at the voting booth!
10
As Susan Collins so brilliantly put it, the House of Representatives should have gotten all of this information before they sent the articles of impeachment to the Senate. That's why they shouldn't have witnesses now. Hmm...apparently she forgot that the White House blocked every witness from coming forward and refused to turn over the most relevant documents. Or perhaps she has joined the cult of trumpsters (aka: republican senators) who respond to everything with lies and/or stupidity and never have to explain themselves. I will support every Democrat I can. I'm so glad I'm represented by Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey. That's what happens when an entire state votes well
9
This is what happens when arrogance and ego meet arrogance and ego. Let's enjoy it.
3
Dems must pose the following question to both the Defense *and* House Managers:
In the following Harvard Law Review article, 3 Law professors argue Article II of the Constitution, requiring "faithful execution..." (presumably including such matters as the Impoundment Control Act & execution of foreign policy), implies a *Fiduciary* standard of conduct, which in American law means that in cases where special trust & reliance or reposed, creating dynamics of servience/dominance, for the good (benefit) of the persons/institutions reposing the trust, even the mere *appearance* of self-dealing at the expense of the (trust-reposing) persons or institution must be avoided.
This "fiduciary" standard is usually applied where executives are entrusted to act for the good of a corporation, or asymmetrical professional-client relationships that w/out "fiduciary" standards would be ripe for abusive/exploitative behavior by the party "violating the trust."
Excuse me for not formulating this more succinctly (or clearly); I'm not a lawyer.
So the question is: Should the president be held to a higher or lower "fiduciary" standard than is applied in these corporate & professional-client situations?
Bear in mind the motivating concerns of "fiduciary" doctrine are exploitation of office or powers detrimental to an institution or client, & deterioration of trust and trusting relationships in society & institutions.
https://harvardlawreview.org/2019/06/faithful-execution-and-article-ii/
3
Frank, for my (and countless others') mental health, thank you for this article. And those words--they jump right off the page in gleeful celebration of truth and the beauty of words.
5
It is already too late for the republicans to fix the Bolton revelations: whatever they do now stopping short of interviewing Mr.Bolton under oath will make them look like what they obviously are: crooks that are complicit in a really plump cover up.
127
@Saints Fan - Was it a surprise that the New York Times should have an incriminating document passed to it right on the eve of the Senate Trial. And that they should patriotically leak it to the public in daily doles, so they would have a new "blockbuster" headline to publish for a string of days.
But of course the Times and the Post are neutral in this matter, unlike dastardly Fox.
2
Regardless and it's doubtful he'll testify. There is no chance of removal. The best outcome would be to put some GOP Senators further at risk to lose this fall, provided the American voters remember the probe & farcical trial, which is improbable.
2
If no witnesses are called, then Trump gets the last laugh.
3
@proffexpert
For the moment maybe.
But the election will bring his doom. Count on it.
He's a corrupt old man and will not triumph.
4
I don’t think Bolton testifying or not will change whether or not the Republicans will vote to exonerate Trump. I think we all know that’s what they were planning to do from the minute this started and no amount of facts or evidence was going to dissuade them. But what might change may be the minds those undecided folks. Or the folks who voted for Trump thinking he was one thing and then found out he’s something else all together. Bolton’s testimony could have a big impact there and I think that’s what Trump is really afraid of.
But even if Bolton doesn’t end up testifying, that book is now going to get a lot of attention when it comes out and all by itself is bound to have an impact on the election. (PS - if that was the plan, my hat goes off to the publisher’s marketing dept. Well played. The thing is now going to sell like hot cakes).
8
@InterestedObserver
Bolton's testimony is exactly what Trump is afraid of.
But every bit of dirt that comes out provides more reasons for more people to vote against him.
Sure he'll have the oafs who are his base. So what? 36% vs the rest of us. No contest.
Trumpelstilskin your days are numbered. You are on your way out.
3
The GOP's pompous philippic, antagonizing Bolton's testifying, seems quite parochial and picayune, for obvious reasons. Their jeremiad of blocking any witnesses, may seem ill-conceived to a neutral observer, but not to a garden variety republican, who will still maintain that Bolton's revealing facts can add precious little to Trumps' threshold of impeachment. Nothing could be more lugubrious than these.
The diligent and industrious collection of facts by John Bolton, now, appears to be utterly trivial and it will fall in the GOPs' deaf ears, no matter the endeavors of the Dems. Even if Trump brazenly and blatantly crossed the line by withholding funding for Ukraine, it stands a chance of being shot down by Trump's loquacious lawyers.
It seem more than likely, the GOP stands a better chance of having the cake and eating it too. They may well be the last ones to laugh.
3
The only BIG question at the moment, since Trump has now sought to stop Bolton from publishing the book, is; will Bolton & his publisher defy that attempt & publish it through the Times or the Post, like thee Pentagon Papers? Stay tuned, but don't hold your breath.
6
There is no obstacle whatsoever to Bolton releasing a sworn affidavit.
10
Bolton may have some really relevant things to say about Trump's motives in the Ukraine Affair, but whether or not he's permitted to testify in the "trial," let's not forget that he's not a Great Defender of the Constitution --
he's just another warmongering neocon.
5
George W. Bush Blasted John Bolton In 2008: ‘I Don’t Consider Bolton Credible’
After Bolton trashed Bush in an op-ed, the former president complained that he had expended political capital on Bolton and got little in return.
No wonder he couldn't open a Blarney Stone. He can't be trusted. No one wants to buy a Guinness from a man, who can't be trusted and who is more than happy to stab you in the back.
1
@P&L so they are ALL lying, huh? person after person after person.
Only a fair trial can spare Trump the lasting distain and uninterrupted laughter of everyone...he will be a crooked president who can only be acquitted if his friends pack the jury in this "banana republic" show trial. We should remember that Jimmy Hoffa was convicted and sent to prison for witness tampering...what is Mitch McConnell doing differently? This trial will sadly resonate in America forever.
5
I’d read that book, too.
5
It doesn’t matter how many witnesses are called. The Senate requires a two thirds majority to convict President Trump and remove him from office. The Democrats do not have the votes to do this. This hysterical hullabaloo is just the Democratic Party wasting the nation’s time and resources.
JohnMurray- No waste: excellent use of resources to inform, rather than conceal and lie.
2
I know, it's like they're doing this because it's the right thing, even if it's not politically expedient. Ridiculous.
5
In reply to Liz Webster Franklin Tasmania Australia
Before Nancy Pelosi initiated this impeachment she knew that it would be impossible for the US Senate to convict and remove President Trump. To convict, she would have had to have 67 democratic senators. She only has 47. This impeachment has been an exercise in futility.
Assuming there is anything funny, which none of this is.
3
Reality is getting closer to the hypothetical posed a couple of years ago...that Trump could shoot someone on Park Ave. and get away with it.
4
Like Mr. Bruni, I'm a but surprised Trump hasn't avowed the only Bolton he knows is Michael Bolton.
4
He's gotten the publicity for his book. Just announced, the White House refuses to allow publication of said book "as is". Did you think anything else would happen? So much for Moscow Mitch's take of reading copes in the Senate cloakroom. If he isn't allowed to publish, he won't be allowed to testify. Trump holds most of the cards, unfortunately. Now its up to November
2
The left hates him more than the right. This is not going to get him any invites to cocktail parties or barbecues—he will be a man without a country. But maybe he only cares that his book will sell.
The rats are scampering from the sinking ship. Problem is, the captain, such as he is is still at the helm.
1
Bolton will tell the truth.
That's Trump's et al's Achilles' heel.
1
A question for anyone who can answer it: Can John Bolton or his lawyer write a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts, cc: Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer and ASK to testify, no subpoena?
Thank you.
3
Let history judge Bolton. Right now, like him or not, support his testimony during the impeachment trial. It may not change the outcome; it probably won't, but it's necessary. A trial without witnesses is just a coverup.
4
Bolton is hardly a "darling" of Democrats but at this stage of Trump getting away with so many crimes and Republicans looking the other way, I don't care who gets the last laugh on him. I'm hoping it's the majority of Americans who vote against him next fall.
3
One of the more important aspects of a trial is cross-examination of witnesses. It allows the jury to watch the witnesses as they answer pointed questions and observe their facial expressions, body language and voice inflections. If you don't call witnesses to testify before the jury, you negate an important element of a trial.
3
My biggest problem is that Trump demanded that the president of a vulnerable foreign country do something that actually is corrupt in and of itself in order to receive military aid that his country desperately needed. (Falsely insinuating that what Biden did in Ukraine was corrupt is wrong.)
Mr. Bolton, I appreciate your exposing the truth in your book and your being willing to testify in the Senate.
10
Trump now asserts Bolton's book contains top secret information; to release it will imperil national security. Release due in March. Trump with lots of time to yet prevent its release. Wiser course may have been to release "leaks" much closer to release date.
3
@blgreenie
Top Secret information = The Truth. And DJT can't deal with that.
Correct me if I am wrong but the content of testimony by Bolton will have to directly prove (with evidence) Trump's direct involvement in the Ukraine affair. So far the escape clause has been that so and so was involved or uninvolved but the direct link to Trump was evaded. So and so told to do this. Or the name of the company did not mean the man. Etc. This served to protect both Trump and witness.
What are we waiting for Bolton to say, exactly?
And..will it come to pass that oh yes, the evidence is clear now and Trump is pinned down - but really it was not really a crime or such a little peccadillo of a crime that it is deemed not worthy of impeachment?
What needs to happen to crack this case?
1
When my friends complain, "But I hate Bolton!" I remind them of what Churchill said when he, the fiercest critic of the Bolsheviks in parliament, did an about-face in 1941, that if Hell declared war on Hitler, he'd put in a good word for the Devil in the House of Commons.
194
@HKGuy None of this should be about whether we like or don't like Bolton. All of it should be about trying to find the truth. But I realize that is naïve and futile.
10
In reply to Saints Fan Houston TX
The actual exchange was:
Lady Astor “Winston, if you were my husband I’d put poison in your coffee”.
WSC “Madam, if I was married to you, I would drink it”.
reported in the book Nancy Astor by Sykes.
3
When you bargain with the Devil, you eventually will be eviscerated.
5
A whole lotta Kool Aid goin' on. And Trump has the punch bowl to prove it.
6
Paybacks are a witch, as they say.
3
It's a coverup. The House couldn't get testimony from Bolton and others because Trump blocked witnesses (and documents) from the impeachment inquiry. Bolton and others declined to appear if asked or subpoena’d. GOP senators voting against any witnesses or new information are completing Trump's coverup.
10
Yeah, yeah... I know: Bolton Bombshell. A man democrats never trusted now is their savior, their new Michael Avenaiti. Ho-hum
Or, as a wise man recently said:
"How many times are you guys going to let the media sell you on 'this is the end of Trump!' They always pretend it's so close, and this latest thing is IT. And it never happens. I bet you thought Gilligan was going to get off the damn island every episode too." - Ben Williams
The whole political scene is just a TV show, folks.
Expect plot twists on a regular basis and... grow up.
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
4
You do realize that Trump got impeached? Half a year ago that wasn’t possible.
3
What sound was that, Frank? Bolton being tossed out with the trash.
5
The charge of partisan politics is moot since both sides are guilty. That doesn't mean the Democrats doesn't deserve to hear witnesses. Truth is something that is hard to get to. Blocking witnesses is against the truth.
5
It is no picnic working for a guy who is dumber than you are.....ask Tillerman who ended referring to Trump as a moron. Pompeo gets a point or two, I guess, for hanging in there, perhaps for the good of the country. It is easy to see how Bolton bolted. I mean, the president of the united states is Donald Trump for crying out loud.
2
He is untrustworthy. He did not testify by himself.
And I am a democrat.
Truth is we should be focusing on winning the election and not bashing Trump.
I think my fellow Democrats only care about bashing Trump and it will backfire.
This is why American turned to the Republicans in the first place and how Trump won.
8
Democrats are hoping that Mr. Bolton will rat out his former boss - and they may be right. But Mr. Bolton is also likely to hedge his answers, because he doesn't want to implicate himself in any criminal activities, merely sell more copies of his book. The result is likely to be that everyone hears what they want to hear and nothing will fundamentally change.
6
Don’t you hate when people lie to make a profit? Thank god Trump never does that!
It seems to me that the White House’s efforts to block Bolton’s testimony and McConnell’s attempt to gather enough republican votes to quash the appearance of witnesses is the ultimate obstruction of justice.
17
Thank you for this very interesting interpretation of the strange dance between Bolton versus Trump.
But to me it doesn’t matter who will get the last laugh … this is the pitting of two disgusting gladiators in a Roman Coliseum … they will both go down for different reasons.
2
That’s not nice to insult the gladiators...
2
First: Yes, it's surprising Trump still dimly remembers John Bolton; usually in such circumstances he "barely knows", or doesn't know at all, those who defect from his cult, the equivalent of "He/She is dead to me."
Second: "If they [Republican Senators] ignore Bolton, their still-unshaken commitment to acquitting Trump becomes even more naked". Again, yes: and that's precisely the problem with obstinately refusing to have existing written evidence presented and known witnesses produced. It will all come out in the end, and their unconditional fealty to Trump will sink them.
3
The Republicans' dismissal of John Bolton's revelation against
Trump is consummate proof that in their worldview, corruption
is an acceptable component of power; denial and ignorance are
bliss; and they're entirely more interested in serving themselves
than us.
9
They are the moral mirror image of their voters.
3
Frankly Mr. Bruni, whether Bolton testifies or not, the Republicans will stick to their guns like gum under a school desk and vote to NOT impeach their loony leader.
The only thing that would be accomplished if Bolton were to testify would be to delay the inevitable.
How I wish the above proposed scenario would not occur, but I cannot help but feel it in my bones that's how they will vote, especially after this morning when Trump meet with all of them, calling many out by their first name.
4
The numerous comments to Mr. Bruni's article careen between lionizing Bolton as a hero to vilifying him has a traitor to American values. In truth, he is both depending on the lens thru which he is viewed. Gen Benedict Arnold was a hero of our revolution before he was a traitor. People are generally complex and neither all good nor all bad. Bolton is no different. I am old enough to remember the LBJ-Goldwater election and how polarized the electorate was. Both were assailed for their positions on Viet Nam and foreign policy in general, but neither had their love and respect for America and our Constitution questioned. Bolton's motives are his own, but I do not believe it is a stretch to believe that he was, and is, deeply concerned for the well being of America and our Constitution. There is nothing in his past actions or comments that would indicate otherwise. I write not to defend him, but to thank whatever motivated him to speak out against the corrupt and morally bankrupt occupant of the WH. I can only hope, foolishly no doubt, that enough Republican Congressmen/women will be embarrassed by their inaction in this regard and speak out as well. Maybe enough Republican Senators will find the courage to demand that Bolton, and other fact witnesses, be questioned in these impeachment hearings. Maybe, for the good of our country!
5
If anyone brings down Trump, it needs to be a Republican, and a hawkish one at that, or else the charges of "partisanship" will never die down, even in the history books.
7
As the Republican Senators have a 'strong reason' not to listen to Bolton; his day in court will most likely never happen.
1
This is not about Heroes, Trump or Bolton or Schiff or anybody else...this is about the Truth! We, as a nation, have lost all connection to a common narrative and a common Truth! This is the biggest power grab by unregulated capitalism usurping the Republic.
9
The last laugh is on Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi.
They had complete control of the impeachment process in the House. The time to hear from John Bolton was during their inquiry leading up to a vote on impeachment.
In their undue haste to damage the president -- apparently just to say they did so -- they blew by every opportunity to compel testimony from Bolton or anyone else who has emerged in recent days.
So now the Senate will do what is completely proper under the constitution -- vote on the impeachment report the House sent them. And the process will end, with a whimper and a yawn from the American people.
Who is laughing? Donald Trump.
10
The House did what they could and were taken to court - the case is still going on. Don’t blame them for he fact he did not appear.
6
@Judith Turpin So, fight it out. Bolton now appears more than ready to testify. That would have happened if the House had pressured him to do so and waited for developments to lay out. There was nothing demanding a half-baked impeachment process. So, it is certainly the House's fault - Pelosi and Schiff - that such a lame and flimsy bill of impeachment was forwarded to the Senate.
1
I don’t know how it is where you live, but there is no whimpering and yawning going on around here. The impeachment is all anyone talks about. They are very passionate about it and they adamantly want witnesses.
1
John Bolton is never going to testify.
Mitch McConnell will not just twist arms, he will break them to ensure he doesn't. Romney is the only Senator who isn't a toady hack on this issue. Collins and Gardiner will be allowed to vote for witnesses for the sake of their reelections, all others--Ernst, McSally, Murkowski will toe the line. 50-50 tie. VP can't vote in this instance; motion fails.
3
The VP is not presiding, the Chief Justice is the presiding officer. If anyone were to break a tie it would be him.
1
@Judith Turpin
I said the "VP can't vote in this instance"; only a member of the Senate can vote in the Senate--the Chief Justice is another branch of government entirely. A tie vote therefore is defeated. McConnell wins.
I don't trust Boton's positions. I trust him to tell the truth as he sees it, and he seems like a reliable reporter as long as we don't forget his slant. So to quote another commenter, "As an American and a Democrat," I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. He wouldn't be my first choice for the authoritative voice to eliminate Trump, but he's currently the best option we have. I'll take him.
2
If for no other reason,Bolton deserves credit for saying the words no one else in this administration has had the integrity or common sense to utter when faced with repeated malfeasance by the chief executive and his team: “Go to the lawyers.”
1
Absolutely mystified why Dems would want to open the door on witnesses and welcome Bolton as Trojan horse.
A) Bolton will assert that Trump wanted Ukrainians to investigate corruption, interference in 2016 and Dems including Bidens and Burissma and that Trump bargained with aid for it. That is already presumed by everybody.
B) The Republican witnesses will assert that Bidens got tons of money from corrupt Burissma for doing nothing, that Joe Biden threatened to withhold aid if that corruption investigating prosecutor did not get fired, and that Ukrainians politicians were posting and writing anti Trump stuff during 2016 and Ms Chalupa and DNC and the Whistleblower were on the same task force coordinating it.
The A will be cheered by the media and B will be disputed, ridiculed and defended by the same media and the Dems.
After the dust settled the public will left with a general impression that Trump is a Trump and Bidens made out like bandits and that nobody can get their arms around where the Russian and Ukrainian Byzantine mess starts and ends and that everybody lies, is getting rich, and media cannot be trusted.
And this helps the progressives how?
4
The Senate sham "trial" is a last ditch effort to protect a criminal president.
The American people see it for what it is. Therefore McConnell's "strategy" is short-sighted.
This spectacle will elect a Democratic president in November, as long as it isn't angry, everything's-free Bernie Sanders.
2
Trump is like a nest of termites consuming the wooden columns and joists in a house. When he leaves the Presidency, nobody will ever trust in the rule of law or the mutual interests of all Americans for a very long time. More than a few Republicans are going to find that their contempt for our liberal democratic system that assures equal political rights under the rule of law will find that personal power and influence will determine whose rights are respected. There are knuckle heads on the right who think that they can buy liberty for a thousand dollars worth of guns and ammunition and so do not think that wealth and influence are decisive, but they will learn differently.
2
Not exactly the last laugh when the impeachment isn't over yet.
3
I am not a big fan of John Bolton. But in this case he is a truth teller and people like Sean Hannity, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Mike Pompeo, Kellyanne Conway, Lindsay Graham, Devin Nunes, William Barr and Mike Pence are liars.
Sadly none of the folks in the liar category care enough about the Trump stain that will be with them and their families for the rest of eternity.
So remember as the statement goes: "Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely."
1
Do you for a minute believe that Bolton wouldn't repudiate his own book under oath in exchange for a job offer that would return him to power and allow him to bomb Iran?
I'd love to hear him testify, but I wouldn't be counting my chickens until the testimony is recorded.
2
IF Bolton's testimony brings public awareness of the truth, Trump's days in the White House are numbered. (IMHO)
Are you sure. As Trump said, he could shoot someone openly, in public, and get away with it. He knows that about himself and the cult like devotion he generates in those susceptible to his "charms". Plus he is dishonest and ruthless.
Let's not canonize the guy just because he happens to be a useful tool in the moment. He's even more malevolent than Trump, ultimately, because he's got an ideology. A highly dangerous ideology.
5
Bolton, like his moustache, is a relic of a bygone age, back when engineering illegal wars over fictional WMD, costing trillions of dollars, thousands of American soldiers lives and hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties in the 'aggressor' countries, was just considered 'collateral damage' in pursuit of national security.
Trump distrusted the moustache too but overcame this Fox News-unfriendly visage in the deluded belief that a more Hawkish posture would make his administration look tough. In the end it only managed to make it look geriatric as well as criminally incompetent. But hey what's one more reason for thinking the Trump presidency is a game show gone badly wrong on live TV? That's just par for the course at Mar-a-Lago these days.
It appears that Trump's motives in firing Bolton, one of his few good decisions, may have had far more to do with a trivial ego clash with Bolton than any objection to his aggressive and dangerous warmongering.
Bolton has an axe to grind and a book to sell. He knows his days in politics are over after this last hurrah.
Bolton is now held up as the sane one in the room by reactionary liberals, aligning themselves ever more with the warmongers in the DC swamp.
Here's a man who made John McCain look like a crusader for peace and has been one of the lead cheerleaders for every war in the past 40 years and who has a record of lying.
Future presidents will be left having to deal with Bolton's toxic legacy for decades to come.
No laughs.
7
The laws of probability would suggest that with the increasing number of adverse relationships being generated, the chances that some of them would generate unfortunate outcomes would increase.
2
This may be the best job of book promotion I have seen. Regardless of whether the GOP covers up the facts by refusing to hear any witness testimony or review any evidence, it won't be long until Ambassador Bolton is making the rounds on Anderson Cooper, Rachel Maddow, Neil Cavuto, Chris Wallace, GMA, Today, and all the rest of the news shows, telling us about what is in the book.
2
Let us pray Bolton is allowed to testify, which will go a long way in making it a fair trial. And we can pray that he puts our country first and end this era of corruption.
3
Concise and penetrating. Well done Frank. Only a character like Trump could make a character like Bolton seem sympathetic.
4
The line about Ivanka provided my first good laugh of the day. And my second when I re-read it. Thank you, Mr. Bruni!
4
Also his assessment of Pompeo. His very public spectacle of a man without honor is something to behold. Ted Cruz follows on his heels.
1
IMHO, this is the best "Bruni" ever. Sing it loud, sing it proud, FB.
5
Not really. As with the Mueller hoax, we will see who has the last laugh.
3
@Len hoax? really try reading the report Mueller indicted dozens of people the report showed collusion and gave examples, meetings with the Russians, sharing polling data with the Russians, and back room communication channels with the Russians. Just cause trump lied and said no collusion try reading the report. (BTW collusion isn't illegal but it did happen regardless of what lying trump said)
trump also said no evidence of conspiracy-the report said "insufficient evidence" of conspiracy because witnesses refused to testify.
3
@Len -- we Trump haters will have the last laugh (and first sigh of relief) as soon, in November, as we've finished voting the Scourge out of office.
4
Spot on, Mr. Bruni.
4
your premise has been falsified. Trump this morning said he was forced to hire Bolton.
lol, and you believe this. If he was "forced" to hire Bolton it was because no one else would take the job. Who knows how long #4 can last. Whatever his name is.
"Ivanka, beware. You’re one bad manicure away from paternal amnesia."
Glorious, Mr. Bruni.
4
Oh, Mr. Bruni, you have served us a hot fudge sundae with oodles of whipped Republicans on top. Thank you again for reporting as if one were reading a novel that can't be put down. I await your next offering; on a silver platter.
5
Mr. Bolton,
Just in case you are reading these comments.
Now is your time to speak up even without the subpoena, or you are no different than Trump.
Write your own history, or Americans will write it for you in the annals of infamy. There are no rewrites.
And...
I will buy several copies of your book.
1
his absurd mustache is cartoonish....as are all the Trump regime's cast of characters.
2
Yes, Bolton needs to speak. I want to hear from Pompeo and Mulvaney, and see what's behind the black redactions! Right matters. Truth matters.
8
Shrewdly divorcing himself from Trump so he can have another shot at a White House advisory position in the future.
3
John Bolton is a fair weather friend. He is a turncoat who wants to make a name for himself. He has always been a neocon and should never been brought into the Trump administration. He was angry that he was fired and it bruised his huge ego. Now he is writing a book and will profit off his disloyalty to President Trump. We already know what it contains so why should we even waste our money. Those who loathe President Trump will soak this up like a sponge. They cannot get enough of this hate.
2
When it comes to being a "hand grenade", Rudy Giuliani has nothing on John Bolton.
4
Hey, that's not fair. Chinchillas have better grooming than Bolton's 'stache.
Bolton or Mueller ? Who cares. Democrats will find a way to lose the initiative. American people. American people..... Almost half are rabid Republicans. So who are these people the Democrats are searching for?
1
Ain't nothing happening other that the Left getting their underwear in a bunch because of a book. The Left deserves to always lose because the Right continues to lie and use propaganda. I could care less.
1
Let’s see how Fox News thug-pundits react to McConnell’s whelps for help. If that media machine manages to get McConnell the votes he needs to avoid Bolton’s testimony, no one who has some relationship with truth will be laughing.
1
The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Bolton can now join Comey, et. al as a face in the Democrats' Mt. Rushmore.
1
"When Donald Trump's demise can teeter / on dirt John Bolton knows / Anything Goes." Thank you, Cole Porter, still the best
2
Frank, the line about Don not knowing Bolton was Lol funny for me. Great job.
1
The New York Times needs to get its story straight on what John Bolton’s draft manuscript says. The story keeps changing,
On Sunday, the Times reported that Trump told Bolton "he wanted to continue freezing $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine until officials there helped with investigations into Democrats including the Bidens.” On the same day, it reported Trump told Bolton “he preferred sending no assistance to Ukraine until officials had turned over all materials they had about the Russia investigation related to Mr. Biden and supporters of Hillary Clinton in Ukraine, referencing unfounded theories and other assertions that Rudolph W. Giuliani, his personal lawyer, had promoted about any Ukrainian efforts to damage Mr. Trump politically.”
But Monday, the Times reported that “Bolton wrote that the president told him — directly — in a conversation last August that the aid was being held to squeeze Ukraine into pursuing the investigations.”
And on Tuesday, it published an opinion piece that asserted the manuscript indicates "the president unequivocally conditioned the release of foreign assistance to Ukraine on whether its government would investigate Democrats, including Joe and Hunter Biden, and furnish politically damaging information about them.”
Suspiciously, none of the articles directly quotes the unpublished manuscript. If the manuscript provided smoking gun evidence, we would see direct quotes.
3
John Bolton's smirk in the featured photograph is reminiscent to that of a Cheshire cat - ready to ponce with another bombshell at any given moment.
1
Doesn't matter. They'll vote to cover up. And Bolton will go away, miserable that nobody would listen to him. He had his chance, though, but wanted to play games with the House. He's as much to blame as anyone else for enabling Trump, a petty, ignorant, and malignant creep who is nowhere close to being up to the job of the presidency.
3
Bolten was fired and forced out. Nothing but sour grapes!
1
As a foreigner I see it like this: Couldn't it be that Bolton is simply saying what really happened? Just saying. Even though he's been such a crass hawk, he may be more inclined to protect your institutions than your orange toupee in chief. Time to speak up, American friends! NOVEMBER!
5
I predict John Bolton will get his 15 minutes and never be heard from again.
1
Bolton may very well get the last laugh, but after Fox News gets through with him over the next few weeks Bolton may need to move to Mongolia permanently.
1
Bolton will become radioactive to the right wing if he testifies. Maybe he already is, with his book. I dislike these White House memoirs, and there are so many, but I will read this one.
1
Why are we counting on John Bolton to be any kind of savior in this scenario?
Don't ever forget - this guy is a bloodthirsty warmongering self-interested piece of garbage. And - on top of that - he is still a republican, and as corrupt as the rest of them. He's not out to save the republic. He truly doesn't care about anything but himself and murdering innocent civilians in other countries.
Stop being so giddy about the 'bombshell' that this guy may or may not have. We know trump committed a crime, several in fact.... The right doesn't care, and deep down that includes mr. bolton.
1
Bolton may have a bigger ego than Trump.
4
@John Brown
But he's not psychotic.
If witnesses are allowed, The Chief Justice of the SCOTUS presiding over this trial should rule on any and all witnesses that are relevant and that includes the Bidens, Bolton, Pompeo etc. However, it also must include Trump himself - the most relevant witness. Let it play out as long as it needs to go, the country needs this debate in its gory detail and then regardless of the verdict the voters can decide in November with full knowledge of what our nation considers the current "bar" for a President's behavior..
1
@Pete: Trump didn't recollect anything when Mueller queried him in writing.
1
I wouldn't go gloating yet. Removing Trump is the only thing that matters and that is far from certain.
Trump is doing a modern version of the Roman 'Bread & Circuses' routine, hoping to keep people distracted during his Trial, therefor the announcements of Presidential accomplishments and the rallies.
You can bet that Trump has a plan to take maximum advantage if he is acquitted.
If he is convicted, then things get complex. My understanding is that he could be convicted but not removed? Then what? If he is convicted and removed will he accept the verdict? Also then what? How do we work with Pence? Will Pence pull a President Ford and pardon Trump for all crimes? What happens to the Presidential Campaign in the event of Conviction & Removal? Interesting times.
Firstly, we have not seen what Bolton actually wrote, we only have reports on what anonymous others say they read.
Secondly, who knows if Bolton is telling the truth, if he actually does claim Trump told him: no aid without an investigation.
Thirdly, Even if Trump linked aid to some investigation: it didn't happen,
Fourthly, the Biden's behavior in Ukraine and elsewhere was suspicious, if not corrupt, and Trump was well in his Constitutional authority to investigate them in any manner he chose.
None of these amount to a crime, let alone a "high crime".
Bruni and the Media hate Trump so much they will say anything.
4
Independent Voter, how was Biden's behavior "suspicious "? He publicly represented the Obama administration, supported publicly by Senators Republican and Democrat and European allies in getting rid of a corrupt prosecutor who refused to investigate corruption. As there is not an iota of evidence Biden did anything wrong so what basis would there be for an investigation? Why did Trump only want an announcement of an investigation not that one be conducted? Is it right to withhold funds appropriated to an ally for military purposes just to get a new foreign leader to announce a bogus investigation?
21
@IndependentVoter
Biden led the US in joining an international coalition’s effort to fire a prosecutor who wasn’t investigating corruption, at Burisma or anywhere else. Firing said prosecutor only increased the chances that Burisma would be investigated. Tell us just how his “behavior” was suspicious.
3
You just have to admire a guy who never waivers when it comes to his principles, even if they are breathtakingly counter to what you believe. Recognize Bolton for the stolid strategist he is. Men of principle are a dying breed, both in politics and in the corporate world. However calculating Bolton may be, I applaud him for his moral consistency as well as his honesty.
1
@lrb945 A consistent warmonger is nothing to celebrate in my opinion.
Bolton is no hero, even if he testifies and confirms Trump's corrupt activities. Anyone who follows current events knew for years that Trump is a pathological liar and confirmed grifter. Bolton chose to join Trump's team, disregarding Trump's fatal flaws. It's been reported by 'anonymous sources', which has become way too common lately, that Bolton was blunt and honest in his advice to Trump, even risking angering the whiny brat by rejecting his blather and correcting his stupidest remarks. Whether he did so based on patriotism, personal ambition or any other reason is not what matters. He chose to serve at the pleasure of an arrogant, ignorant, incompetent master. That was his fatal flaw.
3
However many of us didn't like Bolton's warmongering and arrogant style, he is showing Trump there is a limit for everything...including the corrupt 'drug deal' in Ukraine via Giuliani's stupidity, trying to bribe Zelenski into denouncing Biden's investigation to the public...before the money (aid) was released for Ukraine military defense. It appears as though Bolton refuses to remain Trump's minion.
Sadly shinning a light on the GOP at the moment will in all likelihood not yield a man or woman with any sense of decency. They will defend their dear cult leader till the bitter end. Bolton didn't get mad at Trump, he got even. Your columns are always enjoyable but this one is spot on and brilliant.
1
All the Republican players in this dangerously absurd excuse of an administration have willingly stepped into the Trump slime, and Bolton is no different. He was part of Trump state media when picked for his... advisor? position. Bolton must have known no one really advises the stable genius. The best I can say is at least Bolton won't hear 'lock him up' chants.
@JD The best I can say, is that he made Trump look like a peacemaker for a while, at a time when we don't have one of those.
@John Ayres Ask our actual allies who fought with us if Trump looks like a peacemaker.
According to the most prolific liar of all time, Bolton begged him for the job, and trump gave it to him, despite being told, "...don't do it, sir." Always with the *begging* and the *sir.* Has any other "leader" been so lacking in imagination and integrity?
Thanks, Frank! Especially the part about Pompeo! I was telling my husband this very thing last night, Pompeo is realizing that his political ambitions are DOA after his association with Trump! That’s why he lashed out at Ms. Kelly. You sleep with dogs, Trump, and wake up with fleas!
Eventually, Trump will be gone, and all his sycophants will be ousted from office. Praying that Trump is disgraced so profoundly that he can never again go out in public. Trump is evil.
1
It is a measure of the depths to which our country has descended that someone as loathsome as John Bolton has become a sympathetic figure.
1
This is all a trap folks! He (Bolton) will take his revenge or already has .. and then make a case for Trumps exoneration based on shaming the Dem’s so called ‘witch hunt’!
1
As ambassador Sondland testified, everyone was in the loop. Bolton only belatedly realized that. Dig further deeper, even Lindsay graham was involved in Ukraine, Giuliani having personally delivered him a letter. https://www.thedailybeast.com/parnas-lawyer-giuliani-delivered-graham-letter-calling-for-sanctions-on-ukrainian-officials?ref=home
Devin Nunes was recently involved with Biden investigation in Ukraine, yet he still sat on the intelligence committee impeachment hearings.
1
John Bolton is the Dwight Schrute of this presidential spinoff of The Office.
Don't forget - he wasn't on the phone call with Ukraine until he was. Didn't their mothers ever tell them it's easier to tell the truth.
I don't listen to much talk radio but if anyone is interested now is the time as the right wing, wing nut radio clowns, are in full bloom and going ballistic. It is quite entertaining! Murkowski this, Collins that, Romney yada, yada, yada. And of course that traitor Bolton. Truly amusing commentary...
Brilliant, Frank. Just brilliant.
1
Bolton never met an enemy he didn't want to shoot. But he and all the military brass and long time government workers are at least real Patriots. I sincerely deep down think many stuck around to keep an eye on the sociopath so he couldn't blow the place up. Hopefully Trump will be gone soon and life can get back to normal.
Trump has met his match in John Bolton and Lev Parnas.
The photo of smiling Bolton tells all. He's back in the limelight with the Democratics clamoring for his participation in the impeachment inquiry as a witness. This is Bolton's chance at a star turn and more publicity for his book.
Surprising that Trump was so indiscreet with Parnas. Parnas is a real gangster.
Shades of Bugsy Siegel.
2
Does anyone really believe that Mr Bolton is an honest and honorable man?
1
You are premature. Trump is as corrupt as they come and won’t let go of the power he has ever...
1
In their single-minded march, the democrats now embrace a man they reviled and attacked for years.
This is all just political buffoonery.
3
@Brewster’s Millions
In their single-minded march, the republicans now revile a man they embraced and praised for years.
This is all just political buffoonery.
You have to love the left. A man they trashed his entire adult life is now their hero...even if what he says isn't true. Adam Schiff declined to call him as a witness...saying he had nothing to offer. Now he is the smoking gun. The left thinks Americans are stupid. We are not. We know it is the democrats in the House that should be removed from office. A sad day in America as the assault on the Constitution continues. All of this proves the left HATES America, the values of this nation, and the Rule of Law.
1
Fabulous comment. I did laugh.
Brilliant! Thank you.
The sycophancy is rampant. I guess it takes a person like Bolton to stand up to it. Never thought I would wish for more like him.
Darling of Democrats? Nope.
A bunch of years ago, Bolton was one of the last people I would have turned to for the truth...anything’s possible...
Paradoxically Bolton is much more credible than these lying bunch of weasels around the WH.
John Kelly said "I believe Bolton"
On another issue, have you heard this hard to believe newsflash...
Google it, it's all over, my headline would be" Kremlin Pierced through the Heart of American Heartland"
Thanks to a lease agreement struck by a local radio operator, a Kansas City area radio station can now broadcast Kremlin-funded propaganda six hours a day, The Kansas City Star reports.
RM Broadcasting LLC has agreed to broadcast programming from the Russian state media program Radio Sputnik.
So Russians are here in the middle of the country with their state propaganda station!!!
https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/editorials/article239423958.html
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/01/kansas-city-radio-station-agrees-to-broadcast-russian-funded-propaganda-six-hours-a-day/
And one more this time great piece...
Why the White House May Not Dare Fight On Executive Privilege by Ryan Goodman and Andrew Weissmann
https://www.justsecurity.org/68318/why-the-white-house-may-not-dare-fight-on-executive-privilege/
1
I always knew that Trump and his band of liars and lunatics would bring each other down in the end.
All it takes is one slip up; after a time, Trump will not know Pompeo anymore either.
Natural selection.
2
Dems, let's not get our hopes up too much. I think Bolton will turn out to be too much like Mueller - a Republican. We put so much stock in Mueller's honesty, but turns out, he was too mealy mouth to call a spade, a spade. Besides, Rumpy bombed Iran, which is very much to Bolton's liking, so I think if he does testify, we won't hear much.
”No, I was surprised that the president didn’t dispute knowing Bolton, or at least didn’t say that he was so slightly acquainted with his own former national security adviser that he couldn’t pick him — chinchilla-bushy mustache and all — out of a lineup.”
Maybe Trump thought Bolton was Sam Elliott.
Let's not put too much hope or time into Bolton to save the day. But, cross your fingers regardless.
1
What a sorry choice.
America must choose between a war-monger who loves to overthrow other nations-but happens to tell the truth; or a coward and draft dodger with no concept of the truth.
2
"I was forgetting Mike Pompeo."
He tried to ambush NPR's Mary Louise Kelly and she decked him.
I'm sure his boss was impressed.
1
Subpoena Giuliani. Put him on the stand.
That'll be game, set, match.
1
At this point one has to ask, would Jesus be allowed to testify?
2
I never liked or respected Bolton, not now and not when he was in the Bush camp.If you surround yourselves with people like yourself they will, if wronged or dismissed, come back and attack you overtly or covertly. Trump hired, then fired Bolton despite the latter's assertions to the contrary. The truth here is that Bolton will never get to tell his tale of woe as a witness and the fact that White House never blocked this expose is more than curious. Just another chapter in the Trump reality show that is now being geared up to trash and dismiss the Democrats, Bolton, probably Kelly and anyone else who sullies Trump as he careens toward the 2020 election. One certainly can understand Bolton's reaction to a narcissistic blow but why did the White House allow this to happen - Trump knew about this and allowed it? Doesn't make much sense but does anything that emanates from the Oval Office save for the continued quest for power and further demagogic presence for another term. Just think what carnage this inept and incompetent man can enact in another term.
Last laugh? I didn’t know that Trump had been removed from office.
87
@William McCain With Trump as a "President" there will never be a last laugh--I will laugh past Trumps grave too.
18
The Times hated Bolton for a long time but now they love him, because he is way to get Trump, the enemy of my enemy is my friend! How cute. No principles to large to ignore. All the hypocracy that's fit to print.
@William McCain GOP protect Trump; NO Bolton testimony. Rick Scott is my Senator;Republican. Rick Scott; you are a Florida Senator; not a Trump surrogate. Stop attacking Joe Biden. Why were you involved in the Lev Parnas conversation with Trump? You went on FOX to attack Joe Biden. You run adsin Iowa attacking Biden. Act like a Florida Senator. Ray Sipe Dist 18; Florida
1
I so resent that this impeachment mess is like a game for Bolton and McConnell. Bolton and his book, his slow releasing of information. McConnell and his timing, when and how to trick the Senate, forcing republicans to toe the line. It's a sinister, fear-mongering game they play with us. I find it frightening, obnoxious, and quite unpatriotic. What a world!
1
That was a fantastic read. Right to the point. If I were Pompeo I would feel skewered. And ashamed. As Bruni so well laid out. The price to be paid for acts of naked ambition.
It was fun to watch the President's lawyers because you had to laugh when they tried to present an argument around Bolton. Because it is impossible. That is what made it so much fun. Dershowitz did the worst. I mean the guy said that obstruction of Congress and abuse of power weren't impeachable offenses. What is? Blowing up the world? Poor Mr. Dershowitz, there is something really sad and pathetic to see someone of such talent demean and disgrace himself. He did say he had good hors d'oeuvres at the White House.
1
when Trump gave him a really neat job, decided that a little authoritarianism never hurt anyone. . .
Oh, Frank. . bless you . .
It would have been nicer if he'd have quit playing coy and testified to the House. He could have backed up what some of the State Dept folks risked their jobs to get up there and say, especially the things they attributed to him. "Yes, Mr. Schiff, I did call those efforts in Ukraine "drug deals," and what I meant by that was ...."
It seems a little late now. Maybe the "trick" that some of my fellow commenters are suspecting is just to refuse to testify to a body of Congress that wanted to hear from him, citing legal mumbo jumbo that now seems to have vanished, and offer to testify to a body of Congress that doesn't. I hope you enjoy your reading, Frank; I myself don't feel the need to read his stupid book.
1
It’s bizarre to hear news reports that Republican senators are dismayed to find out that the White House was lying to them about the President and Ukraine. Are these Senators small children? Or delusional? Or just looking for an excuse? Even my 10 year old knows from watching the news that Trump is an inveterate liar. When I was 10, I knew that Nixon was lying, yet Congressman (later ninth circuit judge) Charles Wiggins said he couldn’t believe that Nixon had lied to him.
1
“Ivanka, beware. You’re one bad manicure away from paternal amnesia.”
“It’s a cloaking of humiliation. If they ignore Bolton, their still-unshaken commitment to acquitting Trump becomes even more naked.”
You’re a fine writer, Mr. Bruni.
Lindsey can sneer at Adam Schiff all he wants. sometimes in life you must simply do you job and the right thing even if others are not regardless of the results.
Where are Kelly (aside from his little peep the other day), Mattis, Tillerson, et al? Where are these supposed patriots, some of whom literals fought and risked their lives for this country but now sit back silently as the biggest threat to this country ever now sits in the Oval Office committing one crime and impeachable offense after another and spewing Russian propaganda? Where are they as he's about to be acquitted, which for Donald Trump means approval to do it again and worse? The only reason Trump is so toxic and dangerous and criminal and impeachable...is because too many sit by quietly and protect him, including the Republicans in Congress, who know Trump would demand their heads on a pike if they went against him. Where are the adults, the patriots, the leaders...where is the gravitas and stature and professorial leadership being in the United States Congress demands? On the right, all of that has been replaced by cowering, quivering, soul-selling fraidy cats kissing up to a man they despise and know should not be president.
1
THE RIGHT THING TO DO IS TO SEND THE CASE BACK TO THE HOUSE AND FOR THE HOUSE TO REOPEN THE INVESTIGATION AND TO SUBPOENA PARNAS, BOLTON, etc AND RESUBMIT AMENDED ARTICLES IF WARRANTED.
1
Pompeo decides:
Rectitude or rectumtude...?
He chose the latter.
1
Muller, Muller
He's our man',
if he can't do it
Bolton can!
Bolton, Bolton
He's our man',
if he can't do it
nobody can!
1
Thank you Mr. Bolton. I've always been a dedicated Democrat so of course haven't agreed with you, but I'm pretty sure you are not a liar like most of the republican party. Just do your job so we can rid ourselves of this current administration.
Revenge is a dish best served cold.
Forget that patriotism stuff. This is all about ego.
1
Revenge is best served . . . any way you can.
1
John Bolton will be laughing all the way to the bank as he makes deposits from the sales of his book. He will be remembered as a man who was disloyal to President Trump in his tell all book. What an unfortunate legacy in which to have attached to your name.
"He's assessing the bargain he made...". I wonder if Barr is having second thoughts about the bargain he made?
Bolton gets the final chuckle.
He is smart and Trump is not.
Under pressure John won’t buckle.
His head is cool. Trump’s head is hot.
You may think that Bolton’s crazy.
Hawkish. Right wing. Too extreme.
Bolton, though, is never lazy
and his tactics are supreme.
Trump insulted everybody.
Bolton is just one of them.
But while Donald Trump is bawdy,
Bolton is the better man.
Bolton will not be insulted
and do nothing about it.
When it’s time, he’ll be exulted.
His revenge will be a hit.
Unlike other men in power
who don’t have an inch of spine,
Bolton is not one to cower.
As a witness he will shine!
I don't trust this entire Bolton story. He conveniently says he'll testify, his book conveniently gets leaked.
I smell a rat. I think we're being set up on this one. He may well testify, but that doesn't mean he'll finger the president.
If Epstein can be murdered is jail cell to keep him from implicating very powerful people; how safe are witnesses such as Bolton, Parnas, and Giuliani?
Did Maureen Dowd write this piece? Sure sounds like it, except yes, it's missing two or three words that I'd have to run to my dictionary to learn. It's a nice piece of fluff, and the accompanying photograph of Bolton waving to his admirers is priceless.
While I support the impeachment process, can't we just have a weekly update on Sundays? The more things change...
Frank, you're right. Bolton gets the last laugh...not Trump...not the Republicans in Congress...certainly not America.
For all the brouhaha over Bolton's possible testimony, his forthcoming book, his confirmation of Trump's extortion attempt...it changes nothing about the forthcoming Senate acquittal of Trump. He will be acquitted no matter what. And where does that leave America?
America has been and continues to be sullied. By a corrupt immoral president. By a shameless unconstitutional unpatriotic Republican Party. By Christians who are Christian in name and claim only. By MAGAts who don't know the difference between making America great and making America a cesspool.
The November election is nine months away. Any Democrat will do. But as we prepare to send Trump packing and save America, keep in mind that we MUST clean the House and Senate of Trump's shameless remnants. Then and only then may we join Bolton in a good belly laugh.
"I shall speak in due time," said Bolton the day after he was fired.
Well, we're listening.
Bolton is no "darling" of mine, but he knows the difference between factual and factitious; and his testimony might sway voters who otherwise wouldn't pay sufficient attention to the Senate "trial."
Then there's knowing that, as with Mike Bloomberg, and Nancy Pelosi, something about Bolton demands space in Trump's consciousness, like a parasitic worm eating away at the barriers that he uses to maintain his belief in his own omniscience.
John Bolton is a man that never suffered fools lightly. I appreciate that he recognized it when he found himself working for one.
What counts is that it won't matter what Bolton says. His flock will turn on him - they already have. And the Republican senators will of course follow. They must to get reelected. I hope I'm wrong. Imagine living a life that is a complete lie - so as to support your lying king - and then lie to your constituents about it all - so as to maintain your lie of a life as a lying liar. This is the Republican led senate. It is so sad what people will believe.
Now, if only Bruni had actually seen an actual copy of an actual manuscript...
"Hopelessness is the enemy of justice."
I almost have to admire how jay seculow can say that the manuscript is unsourced! I’m fairly certain that mr Bolton’s source is ......... mr Bolton
1
Marsha Blackburn should be censured for her libelous remarks about veteran Vindman. Have these people no decency??
She is also was the person who kept it up about the "baby parts" lie that motivated a killer to move out to Colorado and shoot a bunch of people at our Planned Parenthood because he had heard that too and acted on it. She is toxic and unethical.
3
Last laugh? Trump gets the last laugh. Along with the three Dem Senators threatening to vote for acquittal. Jeez.
I don't think anyone really knows what Bolton's full agenda is.
1
Yes, how patriotic of John Bolton to take notes about the President's criminal behavior while head of national security, do nothing, quit and sell those notes to us in hardcover for $32.50.
2
Ha-ha. Ivanka ought not wear bushy hair costumes around daddy. Fair. But old bushy-hair guy — what’s his name, Boltcan or whatever — he can put on some Versace and walk the red carpet like that old dancer — what’s his name, Spritzer or whatever. That ought to be good for a few guffaws. Come on, Boltcan, put on that red dress tonight. Go walk the streets. We can call you Roxanne. Just be sure and practice your walk. That money maker doesn’t get daddy’s money for free. And maybe Gucci can cross dress you like a cross-over SUV.
2
"Ask Michael Cohen, Anthony Scaramucci, Prince Andrew, Stormy Daniels, Gordon Sondland, Lev Parnas. Fall into disrepute, cross Trump or claim to have the goods on him and you’re wiped clean from his memory, no matter the existence of contradictory forensics."
Well call me colored, a jaundice hue specifically. Didn't everyone of these people, among many, have the requisite stake to drive through Trump's black heart?
My first thought was, "Uh oh, this could be bad." But, after a quick trip down memory lane, that's what I thought the last 37 times this happened.
Trump said there was no QPQ. Maybe there was QPQ. Not a crime. Trump lied to Congress. When did that become a crime?
The real question is, was there a good reason to investigate the Bidens?
Bolton needs to testify.
Never mind the Senate, if they're determined to be dishonest—It's the American people need to hear what he has to say.
If you are looking for the true patriots ask yourself whether you put your narrow political interests above the country.
Ask yourself why you keep voting for two corrupted political parties that only managed to divide, polarize and antagonize America.
I, too, was waiting for Trump to disavow Mr. Bolton -- "Don't really know him that well." "He is a sick, sick person." "You'd have to ask Mike Pompeo about him...he was Mike's recommendation for the position. I don't really know him." "Never met him. :-)"
These pesky things like evidence, witnesses, and truth are really getting in the way of the impartial, non-partisan GOP plan to acquit. Suddenly all those second and third-hand accounts and sworn testimony may have some merit.
Oh no, what if their constituents figure that out?!
1
Reminds me of the old Vulcan proverb “Only Nixon could go to China.”
As a Independent Voter observing this matter anyone who is laughing is a Criminal!
John Bolton gets the last laugh? At who's expense?
It's strange how many get amnesia when they think a vain, ruthless, liar like John Bolton is to be admired. Do we remember utter failure of the invasion of Iraq? Do you remember Mr. Bolton was behind the tissue of lies to justify the Iraq War? Is this the same man -- who worked for the State Department / Secretary of State Colin Powell -- yet, Bolden took his marching orders from Vice-President Cheney’s unbeknownst General Colin Powell?
Mr. Bolton joined the Trump Administration because he thought he could manipulated Trump into invading Iran (a long time obsession) and bombing North Korea and/or assassinating Kim Jong-un. Mr. Bolton, a cold war relic bases his foreign policy on two options, war and regime change.
John Bolton joined the Trump Administration knowing Russia interfered in US elections and Trump sought their assistance. Mr. Bolton turned a blind eye to all of Trump's malfeasance because his agenda was self-serving. “There is no honor among thieves.”
The whistle-blower, former Ukraine ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, former Russia expert Fiona Hill, Diplomate Bill Taylor, Defense official Laura Cooper, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and others came forward at great risk because they saw wrong doing.
John Bolton is coming forward now because it's personal. This is how "snitches" in the mafia, street gangs, and thugs conduct themselves. Is this how US citizens are going to continue running our government?
1
Maybe Bolton gets the last laugh, but the cruel joke of this administration is on all of us.
2
Let’s hope so.
1
When will Trump be revealed to himself, Frank?
2
I'm waiting for :
'Mike Pence?
I might have met him.
Lots of people want their picture taken with me.'
trump actually enjoys treating people like dirt, and has never figured out that that can come back to bite him.
I seem to recall that Trump's initial dislike for Bolton was due to his moustache. When Bolton didn't shave it off to make brown-nosing easier, Trump should have realized he wasn't a man to be pushed around.
Superb assessment of such a motley crew. And Pompeo’s hot air pomposity flies punctured around the room given his disgraceful treatment of Mary Louise Kelly. If Trump does get the heave ho, as he should, it will be fitting that his downfall was triggered largely by one of the most right wing appointments he made, John Bolton
1
Ha ha ha ha ha!
Every once in awhile, someone is able to stick it to Trump. He can't "swamp" everything...thank goodness.
And, notwithstanding all of Bolton's neo-con viewpoints, he isn't one of my heroes.
However, in this case, Bolton is honest, compared to Trump.
So, I'll take Bolton any day over Trump, spewing his 17,000 venomous lies!
If McConnell can block Bolton from testifying, the last laugh will be Trump's. Bolton will be persona non grata everywhere on all sides. Republicans will hate him as a traitor. Democrats will discard him as both useless to them now and always a complete loon.
He'd likely disappear into obscurity, in a fate he'll feel as worth than death.
Mr. Bruni, so is it about the truth, or is this entire matter a joke? I find nothing funny about any of this, including your column. Mr. Bolton is not an honest individual by any stretch, and why you would purport otherwise is in itself a lie.
It is time for you, and others to get off your high horse and live in the truth, and the truth is this, Mr. Bolton should have taking a much stronger stance against the so-called Trump Administration long before now.
He has written a book to enrich himself. If he decides to speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth to the American people, then and only then will we the people consider contrition for the man.
1
The only other of the Trump administration besides Bolton to have survived Trump is Nikki Haley; but I always recall her making the statement, “We’re taking names”: she sounded like a mafia capo.
John Roberts,you know there is no such thing as a trial without witnesses and info.You have a lot to make up for, being a partisan SCOTUS.I suggest you start by calling witnesses.
John Bolton is a joke. He is interested in getting revenge, because that has been his motivation his entire life, and driving book sales, because, well, that is how the world operates now.
Reason and truthfulness are concepts foreign to John Bolton. And democrats know that because they have attacked him and his credibility for 20 years. But now they embrace him because, well, that is how politics operates now.
Mr. Bruni. I am amazed at how quickly Mr.Bolton has been elevated within the Democratic Party as it's next savior. I for one would welcome his testimony if for no other reason than to witness Hunter Biden melt down on the same witness stand.
I would bet that the very last laugh Mr.Bolton had was your last sentence, which also sums up all the relevance that his book will add to this sorry saga of partisan nonsense.
"I'd read that book" $$$$$
John Bolton has never made a secret of his psychopathy. He is more of a war criminal than a "hawk" - let's not ignore his shameful promotion of the Iraq war under George W.. If he could, there are several other countries he would happily annihilate in the name of "regime change." This recent stunt - which amounts to the betrayal of his own country - shows that the man is not only blood thirsty, he is insanely greedy. He protects and promotes a petty book deal, over his own country's democracy, the values of which he extolled while half a million people lost their lives in the Middle East. Nice. I won't buy the book, buddy.
1
And Trump & the Repubs will deny & discount anything Bolton says.
AMEN Frank AMEN
Well written, an exquisite dessert ,
Imagine waking up from the nightmare
Of Monsters ,
Imagine.............
1
The last few times that Democrats were so chirpy chortling and cheering waiting for a conservative Republican Party icon to save our divided limited different power republic of united states from the existential threat of our Siberian President Donald Trump along came and went James Mattis, Rex Tillerson, John Kelly, H.R. McMaster, Reince Preibus, James Comey, Jeff Sessions, Rod Rosenstein and Robert Mueller.
How well did that all work out?
Waiting for Bolton?
Seriously?
2
Wow! He may turn out to be the next Mueller!!
"Rectitude" --- should be the word of the new year.
1
I can think of few people more distasteful and potentially more dangerous than our current President, but John Bolton is certainly very near the top of that list. Democrats’ embrace of this vile, self-satisfied warmonger is a sorry spectacle indeed.
Bolton has an agenda, but has not achieved greatness, yet. To that he should have come forward and testified before the house intelligence committee and not played the game he plays now. There is no guarantee the republic aka neonfascists that pretend to be Senatorial will vote for witnesses. Living in fear of the orange dictator paralyzes them and they chose to succumb to that fear repeatedly. No, he should have testified before the house.
Hilarious OP-Ed. Yes, indeed, one can only laugh.
1
"I'm not personally acquainted with the sound of his laughter, but I'm certain I hear it." Perhaps the finest sentence ever written in the NYT.
Quid pro quo. Trump delivers for the GOP base, the Republicans stay in lock step with Trump.
Throw Bolton under the bus? Of course. He doesn't have the power to "Make America Again." Trump does. And Trump is easy to manipulate. Bolton isn't.
Bottom line. Bolton's rocking the GOP boat for love of country. Not Love of Trump. The most serious offense anyone in the Trump administration or the GOP can commit. Time to take the boots to him.
Bolton will not testify unless subpoenaed and the White House will block that and force the matter into courts which may not be resolved for months. By then the trial will be concluded.
Trump and the Republicans have learned what habitual felons know, delay, delay, delay, and the chances for conviction rapidly dwindle. Had Nixon concealed his acts better, he’d never have needed to resign.
I don't get the headline. Trump and McConnell get the last laugh.
81
@hark -- if you mean by "Trump and McConnell get the
last laugh" that they're laughing because they believe
their Republican minions will succeed in ending the
impeachment trial with an acquittal, you may be correct.
However, if this happens, in November these 2 Deplorables will be sobbing elephant tears.
16
@Ken
I highly doubt that denying witnesses will effect the Republicans in November. Ukraine means nothing to the base.
12
@John Brown
Unfortunately, that would also tell us that the constitution and rule of law mean nothing to the base of the so-called originalist and "law and order" party.
19
Do republicans start to wonder about Trump's ability to function as the president/commander and chief as his background as a TV reality star and fraudster are public knowledge. Tilleson former sec of state,Mattis former sec of defense ,Bolton former national security advisor and John Kelly former chief of staff all seem to trash Trump's behavior as president. Our commander and chief has dismissed our troops some 50 complaints of brain trauma from Iran's rockets as just headaches. Cadet Bone Spurs seems to think he ankle afflictions were serious enough to save him from service in Viet Nam but troops brave enough to serve in combat zones are faking it. How low does Trump have to go before they realize that Pence could deliver tax cuts and right wing judges without all the chaos that will destroy the GOP. This is their chance to get rid of the tweeting monster they created and replace him with a normal republican.
1
Spare me Frank, please. If Bolton is such a patriotic hero, why didn’t he voluntarily provide testimony to the House?
As an American and as a Democrat, I don’t trust him.
209
@JohnB Easy: Because Trump blocked witnesses and documents from the House, which is why Bolton and others refused to appear…since then Bolton has agreed to testify.
10
@Dean S Scott Trump never claimed executive privilege to block people and documents he just threatened people, refused to hand over the documents, and ranted about court cases - one of his well known ruses in private life: bury them in paper, exhaust them, keep them in the courts for years.
However, despite his threats (before, during and after the hearings) and at great personal and professional risk many of the witnesses called did testify, except for the president's men.
16
@angel98 Maybe you missed White House counsel Pat Cipollone’s letter to Speaker Pelosi and the chairs of the committees conducting the impeachment investigation.
1
Fascinating how the truth springs up in people whom we see in that old cartoon, Foxy Grampa, and who had a foreign policy that bellowed rather than acted with diplomatic discretion was everything most liberals, myself among them, saw as an enemy to peaceful resolution of conflict. It surprises me that among his conservative brethren he has an old fashioned dedication to the truth and democracy. I will be shocked should Mitch not find a way to deny him his testimony before the Senate. But it is nice that one man among the GOP conservatives has an old fashioned sense of honor - and a respect for telling the truth.
1
Did Bolton lie about WMD in Iraq? I want to believe him now, but he’s compromised.
64
@Rachelle Lanedid,
Bolton has been crying in favor of 'regime change' in Iran and war with Russia all his life. And remember, he never served a single day in any military branches.
He did not get those war wishes from Trump and is now crying foul. Bolton is an insignificant warmonger with no real legacy.
6
@Navy Wife
pathetic reasons why he dodged draft while fellow Americans served makes his commentary/viewpoints on any foreign affairs worthless.
2
@Rachelle Lane . did he didn't testify about WMD in Iraq
1
The impeachment trial foreshadows what a President Biden will endure. You can be sure the “corruption” investigations will commence on Inauguration Day.
But frankly, even if a President Biden only lasts long enough to be inaugurated, a decent VP taking over will still be better than a President Trump.
2
Democrats pounding the table for Bolton's testimony is akin to the dog catching the fire truck. Prosecutorial 101: Never call a witness unless you are CERTAIN of what they will say. Nadler and Schiff staking their reputations on the testimony of someone they have despised and who despises them is N-U-T-S Nuts, Nuts, Nuts.
84
I think he will say everything that was purposely leaked. I think Bolton will back up everything we already heard from other state department officials, except it will be considered first hand information. I cant see how that will hurt the case against Trump. What’s the worst that can happen? It already occurred.
23
Bolton will not lie but he may not reveal enough to change the Republicans commitments to keeping Trump in office.
7
@Smiley Jackson They have his book. If he contradicts himself, they can impeach him with his own statements. Do you think he's going to state under oath that his book is fiction just before it goes on sale?
18
The truth is that any Republican in Congress thinks what Trump did is no big deal. They do the exact same thing daily as there is no difference in the "pressure deal" and their gerrymanding. Think Merrick Garland. Trump's lawyers were only detailing what they truly believe. It's all good as long as it keeps you in power.
2
So the Trump administration and its lawyers have been lying to the Senate for a month when they said that there was no first hand testimony while they had a draft of the Bolton book all that time? They are lucky that they didn’t lie to someone who had dignity or self respect, someone who would be enraged with such a lie. The sleepy Senate has hardly raised an eyebrow at this revelation indicating that they expect that everything the Trump administration says has always been a lie, and that it has been fine with them for years. Trump delivered money to the rich on their watch and that is what they are going to raise campaign funds on when the time comes. Their core belief is that Senate seats are bought and they will have the money to pay. Trumps troubles do not bother them, they turned off their hearing aids long ago and they certainly never heard the voice of the people. Whether a few purple state Senators force a few witnesses is also not important because most Senate seats are a lock for one party. They will let a few Senators squirm in the electoral wind as long as they do it quietly. But the script is written and the votes have been paid for long ago. Trump walks is the name of this movie and all the Senators are going to campaign on it in the coming election. They might not all survive Trump but Bolton will. The old school can still show us how it is done.
3
I would just really love to know the truth. I never cared much for him. Of all the books that have come out his is the one i want to buy and read and save it for my Grandchildren to read one day. I trust him to tell the truth. I believe in him.
2
We must never forget that John Bolton is John Bolton, one of the most pernicious "influencers" of American foreign policy in a generation. He should testify and his testimony will no doubt confirm what we heard from NSC workers who have already testified (even without book deals), but that does not cancel out the damage John Bolton did in the Bush administration or on Fox News. Please do not turn John Bolton into some sort of patriotic hero. He is now what he has always been and always will be, himself.
5
Putting our hope and trust in John Bolton to hold this president accountable is like putting it in Robert Mueller Jr. Remember how everybody called Mueller a "straight shooter" and a man of unimpeachable integrity and a war hero? But in the end, he could not even say in plain language that President Trump had obstructed justice and should be prosecuted for that serious violation of law. Remember how he arrogantly refused to answer questions in public, before Congress, that were not already detailed in the "four corners of the report" and how he let AG Bill Barr distort his findings ("no collusion, no obstruction") before they were released without walking to a mic and asserting otherwise? That is why I do not want Bolton to testify. There is not a member of the Trump administration, present or past, or a Republican in any position who has the integrity to hold this president accountable. They are all serving their own political, financial and career interests, one way or another. They are all members of club who know they will be black-balled if they speak truth. Bolton denied the House his testimony. He is not to be trusted now. Democrats, do not call him.
1
Would be nice to have Bolton testify but unnecessary.
-Despite GOP bellowing to the contrary, there’s an outright admission in plain view: the Administration’s own memo.
-There’s also an admission by an Administration insider: Mick Mulvaney’s press conference.
The rest is window dressing.
I think impeachment Article Two re obstruction of justice should be voted down. Dems should have issued subpoenas and let the high court decide who had to testify.
Article One, however, is a slam dunk to anyone who is the least bit impartial.
Wrap this up, have the Senate vote, note GOP’s craven support, and then let’s turn to voting out the whole miserable lot of them.
I am confidant that Trump supporters and enablers will be blinded by the light on the road to Damascus, have a moral awakening, and will do the right thing in all of this, just before their book is published.Hooray for John Bolton; he's doing the right thing - making money. All else is sand and dirt beneath his feet.
Had he any moral rectitude, he would have voluntarily agreed to provide testimony before the House Judiciary Committee. He didn't.
1
Am buying Bolton’s book just to goad Trump.
Would love Bolton’s book sales to beat Art of the Deal.
Then I plan to donate it to my local senior center that shows Fox “State tv” non-stop. Or to the library in Kevin McCarthy’s district.
4
From the Times today:
"With the critical vote looming on Friday on whether to call new witnesses in President Trump’s impeachment trial, Senate Republicans are coalescing around the idea that it is better to risk looking like they ignored relevant evidence than to plunge the Senate into an open-ended inquiry and anger President Trump."
GOP senators are not "looking like" they are ignoring relevant evidence - everyone can see that this is precisely what they are doing. And they are choosing this option over angering Trump, not on any other principle. Well.
To anyone who loves America - don't get mad, get even.
5
Trump and his minions in the Senate would be better off allowing him to testify in the Senate-a forum they control-where his testimony will be limited and subject to claims of priveledge etc. Otherwise he will run loose/unchecked on every talk show spueing a concoction of facts and opinion on everything anti Trump (and others) energized by vendetta, and without any ability to restrain him by Trump or his minions in the Senate.
1
I’m speculating that Bolton feels that in order to save American conservatism and protect its principles he has to expose the RINO administration for what it is, a bunch of power hungry sycophants led by a dishonest megalomaniac willing to violate our treaties, abuse our allies, run up a huge deficit, commit various high crimes and misdemeanors, all in the service of enriching himself and his family. And he would be very correct in that belief. How can conservatism survive when it’s reduced to a criminal enterprise? Judge Roberts may feel similarly.
1
It really doesn't matter what Bolton's motives were for writing his book. What matters is that he is willing to sing like a prize canary in front of all those Senators AND Chief Justice Roberts.
Trump and his team of traitor-like followers can only scream "liar" so often before its impact becomes ineffective. And such is the case at this crossroads in the witness pool - John Bolton.
I think Bolton is probably the toughest guy out there and I think his mere presence at the trial makes Trump's legal team shake and quake in their overpaid designer spoons.
While John Bolton "survived Trump" I truly do not believe this country will if he beats the impeachment rap and more importantly, if he gets re-elected come Nov. 3rd.
Thanks for another informative, humorous and stellar comment Mr. Bruni. You are a main reason why I subscribe to the NYT!!
3
Now all you Republican Senators, who want to block witnesses, will have to answer a lot of questions when that book comes out.
You need to support a fair trail and that means witnesses.
You took an oath.
172
@JLT The last thing Republican Senators care about is an "oath". They all mouthed the words at the beginning of the hearings knowing full well they would immediately violate it in action and principle.
22
@JT If each Senator had had to stand and take the oath individually the pressure to honor it would probably have been greater—personal culpability and all that. It's easy to hide in a group, and it encourages cowardice.
7
@JLT
A oath to Mammon, it appears.
4
Spot on piece once again Mr. Bruni. Thank you. It was, however, disappointing to see you make fun of Mr. Bolton’s mustache. We’d expect that from Trump, but not from you. Let’s hope that Trump’s repeated mocking of physical appearances hasn’t been normalized to such a degree that even a decent person like you finds it acceptable to do.
2
Martha McSally was never elected to the Senate. She’s running an election campaign, not re-election.
3
Mr. Bruni, Bolton will not get the last laugh should Trump remain in office and be re-elected.
69
@BWCA
Well, yes he will. He's already giddy.
I agree with Mr. Bruni, I cannot either shake the feeling Bolton plotted this carefully. Including deliberately placing TS material in the tome to prevent its publication without him changing it.
It is not an understatement, I fear, to say Bolton is garnering BILLIONS of dollars in free publicity, by gaming the system.
He even had Shifty Schiff, as a House Manager, on the Floor of the Senate, during an impeachment trial where there is NO FREE DISCUSSION, not even to rise to a point of order upon pain of imprisonment, announce the book and its publication date.
It almost seemed gratuitous, a kind of qiid pro quo, we'll give you even more free publicity and celebrity if you testify.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4850582/user-clip-pub-date
"AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTION ABOUT IT , AT ALL , YOU NEED TO HEAR FROM HIS FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR . DON'T WAIT FOR THE BOOK . DON'T WAIT UNTIL MARCH 17 WHEN IT IS IN BLACK AND WHITE . TO FIND OUT THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION , WAS IT ALL THE MOTIVE, SOME OF THE MOTIVE OR NONE OF THE MOTIVE AND WE THINK AS I MENTIONED THE CASE IS OVERWHELMINGLY CLEAR WITHOUT JOHN BOLTON BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTION ABOUT IT , YOU CAN ERASE ALL DOUBT. "--Manager Schiff
2
I don't like John Bolton. He is everything that is wrong with America today. The only good thing about him, well two, I think he is a patriot and he is not a liar. And given how far we have fallen as a nation those things in a Republican are very refreshing.
4
I too will wait and see, for me Bolton is a wild card I have not liked much will he put Trump in the street? One thing I though would happen is Republicans would start to eat each other we are seeing that now. Here in the comments somebody said Trump will lose the election well just yesterday two of my customers told me Trump is draining the swamp and last week my life long friend said he likes his policies so this is not a given.
1
In the first year of his 'presidency', when Trump started vilifying everyone who had the guts to question him, his motives, and his actions, my husband and I looked at each other and agreed that one of these days he'd get his. Trump has always been vindictive and cruel toward those that have opposed or questioned him, but his actions were toward people who really didn't have much power. He has made a colossal mistake in attacking those who are in the public eye; they will come back and hit him hard. Bolton and Kelly are just the first ones; there will be many more who jump on the vengeance wagon.
3
I’d say be careful what you wish for. If John Bolton is called as a witness, so will Joe Biden and the Republicans will do their best to see that his reputation is besmirched irredeemably. The Democrats may be better off with witnesses blocked; they can then argue the impeachment trial was rigged.
4
John Bolton cares most about having a future in DC. Nobody has seen his book. He will be Trump's biggest asset as a witness, even opening the door to other witnesses who wil increase suspicions about Biden.
2
Great characterization, as always, as we watch the foolish and “toolish” Trump sycophants fall in and out of favor with his majesty. Working feverishly for the world’s oldest adolescent must be exhausting, being contradicted or ignored or insulted randomly,
Anyone who has raised children knows the helplessness when you find out about their latest rebellious excursion. Not being able to repair or at least apologize must be tough for all Trump’s puppets, at least at first. Sometimes adaptation shouldn’t occur.
Let’s hope we get the last laugh. It does seem likely if Republicans refuse to allow evidence in the form of documents and witnesses. That refusal should make us — 75% of us tell Q pollsters we want them — so mad that there will be a groundswell of support for a second impeachment vote once Bolton and others have testified in the House. We are not likely to believe that a Republican vote to refuse evidence at trial is anything other than corrupt. And the book is due out soon enough that there is still time for the Senate to hold another trial. If 45 teaches anything, it’s relentlessness.
1
As the most relevant of all witnesses, it was Bolton's moral duty to speak up months ago on the Ukraine scandal (among others)... but, alas, our country has been hanging in the balance of a BOOK DEAL... There is no democracy. There are no values. Nothing is real anymore.
2
It is rarely mentioned that John Bolton, son of a firefighter and homemaker in Baltimore, is a lawyer having graduated from the Yale Law School in 1974. At Yale with him were Clarence Thomas (class of '74), Bill Clinton (class of '73) and Hillary Clinton (class of '73). How the lives of these people in a country of 330 Million people have intersected is nothing short of amazing and no doubt one significant reason why people are paying more than $210,000 (3 years tuition but exclusive of room and board) to attend the Yale Law School.
The best case scenario for the Dems is that the Republican senators so egregiously ignore Bolton and other incriminating facts and acquit Trump that even his most steadfast supporters have to see the coverup for what it is and stay home in November.
2
I don’t know if Frank Bruni’s observations are so much a product of naïveté or he’s just happy that the Dem’s impeachment and conviction efforts now appear to be bearing some fruit; from John Bolton no less. Mr. Bolton is a political animal like everyone else. Except, like Comey and a few others, he now has a book to sell. There are no saints in Washington, DC. Adam Schiff’s eloquence? Please. Every politician in that town is just a member of a team. And they will do and say anything to make sure their team wins. Statesman in Washington are long, long gone.
1
Is Bolton our Whistleblower?
Wouldn't that be something.
1
President Trump held a rally tonight in Wildwood, New Jersey which was attended by thousands inside a convention center and many more thousands were outside. It was cold but that did not deter the people. The crowds were ecstatic with enthusiasm and excitement. Jeff Van Drew, the Democratic politician turned Republican, was there and it was reported that many in the audience were Democrats.
Do you think these people were paying much attention to the impeachment process? I doubt it. Like many Americans they have grown weary of these attacks on our president and are tuning out. They know he is loathed by the Democrats and liberals and that they are trying to remove him from the White House. Who will have the last laugh? President Trump of course. And the American people will be giddy with delight when he is re-elected in 2020.
2
Other than the NYT story, what does anyone know about what Bolton will say to Congress?
I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. Bolton is too much a bellicose operator to be doing something out of the good in his heart. He doesn't do the right thing as much as the most expedient.
Besides, he worked for trump. That stain doesn't wash off.
1
The NYTimes' stated editorial policy is quite sound but, at times, I wonder about its application. Under another article I explained Bolton's position as trying to stay on the right side of history. Now, hours later, I'm seeing commenters' statements to that effect and, in another Times article, the same motivation is given for his position. Fickle...
A bit of context here. Bolton knew what was going on, who was involved, and likely has first hand and documentary evidence to corroborate his position. Furthermore, for those bellyaching that he is only now making this clear, I remind you of Fiona Hill’s testimony, that he shared with her that the entire ordeal was a “drug deal”. I guess one could suppose that he had no idea she would testify to this or that there would be a whistleblower.
This entire presidency is exactly that....a drug deal.
A potential Bolton out of the blue
Might unseat the man of the tweet
But that is highly unlikely unless he
Takes a seat.
1
It is payback time for John Bolton. He was fired by President Trump and now he seeks revenge. He was always a star in the Republican Party and his time was finally over. There will be no second act for him in politics. He can always become a contributing correspondent on one of the liberal cable news networks. They would love to have him rip into President Trump.
Fox News will decide who gets the last laugh for 30-40% of America, and they'll give it to Trump. The voters will decide who gets the very last laugh in November.
I have to wonder when Bolton started writing it and when he arranged publication. What was he thinking when he put pen to paper (so to speak). How did he approach the agent, publisher, etc? "Psst, hey, I've got the goods on the prez." I would guess there's a small army of folk out there who already know the lowdown. In addition to the agent and publisher, there are now editors, proofreaders, secretaries, IT staff, custodial staff, etc. What a crazy world. You kinda wish things could be simpler and more direct. And maybe even honest.
Mr. Bruni,
As my great Aunt used to say, you're a caution.
I look forward each time to opening your articles. There is no one who matches you for witfully excoriating your subject (when deserved).
Thank you for your keen perception and excellent writing!
1
Please, please write another book. Your articles are not enough for me although they keep me pretty jolly!
1
Bolton has been wrong on many things including Venezuela--Remember that crumbling nation? He has been skewered on this site many times by the board and by the readership.
Now comes the question of the book--It was one thing to write something in a books--Bolton had about 2 million reasons for doing so.
Writing a book and being a credible witness are not the same things and should not be confused. In the end, it will come down to Bolton's story and its credibility.
Bolton will likely come forward with the typical diplomatic double talk and not a the plain language that typically comes with the smoking gun.
All points taken and I agree. The REAL scary story here, perhaps the scariest of ALL Trump stories, is the thought that John Bolton lauding- I repeat, that’s JOHN BOLTON! - should make you and I happy. That his little horns are still well-hidden under this bushy hair matters not, because we’re EXTOLLING John Bolton’s happiness! What could be more indicative of the scary times we’re living if not that?!
1
Spot on take down of the administration, Frank, but you can read the book for me ( I’ll save my money for better things).
It is History which will have the last laugh.
All points taken and I agree. The REAL scary story here, perhaps the scariest of ALL Trump stories, is the thought that John Bolton lauding- I repeat, that’s JOHN BOLTON! - should make you and I happy. That his little horns are still well-hidden under this bushy hair matters not, because we’re EXTOLLING John Bolton’s happiness! What could be more indicative of the scary times we’re living if not that?!
1
Does anyone remember that quaint TV show named "House of Cards", where we all believed that this kind of political maneuvering, knifing, machiavalen attitudes surely couldn't occur in lifetime?
At least as of this moment, Trump has yet to refer to Bolton’s book as “fake news.” A lot of not so nice things can be said about Bolton, but when it comes to the truth-o-meter, it isn’t Bolton, but Trump that I’d bet against.
Any day now, one might almost expect Trump to offer Bolton the Vice Presidency, after buying up every copy of his book.
Trump has another problem besides Bolton. His former Chief of Staff, John Kelly, is quoted as saying, ""If John Bolton says that in the book I believe John Bolton."
Of course, if Trump had listened to Kelly when he supposedly told the president, “Don’t hire someone that will just nod and say, ‘That’s a great idea, Mr. President.’ Because you will be impeached.”
Trump didn't listen and made the man who wears many hats, Mick "Get Over it" Mulvaney, his Chief of Staff. Not surprisingly the "very stable genius" was impeached. Oh, there's another book about Trump by two Washington Post reporters with that title.
A really good column. Pompeo in meltdown? So to speak. Pompeo's threatening behavior toward and abuse of NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly was purposeful -
He abused and threatened a woman in order to signal obeisance to Trump and to titillate Republican men and some Republican women.
He most likely planned the whole thing.
Which GOP senators received Bolton's PAC monies? Seems a conflict of interest can crop up here.
We are getting ahead of ourselves Mr. Bruni!
I loath our Pres-mmm-mmm (Fonzi trying to say he's wrong) just as much as the rest of Sane-America but his shameless minions still have the upper hand.
Why would this shame at being called out now change their Rep-mmm-mmm votes?
Being right used to make me feel better, now it doesn't work. We are still powerless at the moment.
Until Nov 3, 2020.
How do we know John Bolton isn't simply virtue signalling? Call me cynical but it was a pretty safe bet that the snivelers in the Senate majority leader's pocket (including the equivocators) were going to stonewall any attempt to introduce witnesses in the Senate proceedings. He could coyly tease Democrats and the media into thinking he might do his patriotic duty, all the while safe in his conviction that he would never get called. In the Trumpian world it's what a brilliant, ruthless grifter might do for his March 17 book release.
I recall hearing that Trump fired Marie Yovanovitch because (he said, she said) 'he was going to be Impeached. Should have listened.
What a time we live in. Imagine this corrupt Iraq war hawk ( and all that war cost families, veterans and taxpayers) , now elevated by the left and Senate Dems in order to defeat Trump. While I want Trump out of office, I will not support Bolton being so recognized. He is a despicable war hawk who turns my stomach. I rather wait until November to remove Trump before this sham of a Senate might (but which McConnell will never allow). My heart sinks to think how quick political expediency overrides integrity, honesty and moral ethic by both Dems and Repubs.
Sorry, Frank - I WON'T READ THE BOOK! Bolton's just another in the long line of self-promoting, holier-than-thou REJECTS from Trumpland. Rick Wilson's exactly right - "everything Trump touches DIES" - and Bolton, even if he talks has ruined his reputation by working for Trump. They ALL WORK FOR TRUMP. No one escapes with their reputations intact, credibility alive, they're all a bunch of self-serving narcissists. End of story.
1
And to think this all started 7 months ago with a whistleblower complaint with Trump yelling in front of United Nations delegates, huffing and puffing giving improv stump speeches in front of helicopter, all the press hanging on to his every word and Giuliani on Fox. This has been going on for 7 months Trump wanted a trial, wanted to let witnesses speak, and now according to his snaky lawyer if he did make the arm twisting call, it doesn’t pass the smell test of impeachment. What a weak and failed presidency.
Last night as we watched the helicopters flying above and the boats positioned offshore for the Trump rally held in Wildwood, NJ (aka sin city by the locals), we drank white Russians and toasted the service men and women. Later, I brought out the cashews for snacks since this whole scenario is completely nuts.
As the night wore on, we too were laughing even though our tax money was paying for this campaign stunt.
1
watch Trevor Noah’s monologue last night. It brings your article to life. It shows footage of everyone on FOX news hugging Bolton, kissing him, praising him and treating him like the kind goofy professor the past two years. Then he cuts to recent clips where they betray and denounce him. Lou Dobbs called him a Democrat who’s part of the Deep State. To which I say: if there was a Deep State party running in the November election, I am sure it would win in a landslide.
Is it just me, or is it true that the so-called “patriots” appear at precisely the right moment to launch their book?
The Democrat's and the Press NEVER had anything to say that was good about John Bolton in the past. They railed on him for many years as a war monger, etc. NOW, he's their hero. By any means necessary is the mantra, and he's just becoming a tool to achieve their goal. How transparent.
Obviously, this writer nor many folks wrong below heard out an 81 year old legal scholar, Mr. Dershowitz - who had voted for Hillary - categorically said regardless of what is in Bolton book - it amounts to nothing.
First, it will be he said and he did not say even if he reproduces his records. And I would suggest even if there is a recording.
Second, this is all a policy issue - it is not obstructing justice (Nixon) or lying under oath (Clinton).
And really, folks who is a National Security advisor now turns the very counsel he gave to POTUS is now a crime?
Hard to believe this.
And as Mr. Dershowitz showed every POTUS from Washington to Obama would be tried and convicted under this criteria.
And folks are treating Bolton leak as a "touchdown".
But let's remember they tried the same with Kavanaugh.
And we know the result.
My hope is POTUS litigates if Bolton is asked to testify.
And if the courts rule in Bolton favor.
He then asserts executive privilege.
Bolton testifying is weaponzing the very idea of a government in action.
We are going to need a lot of bleach to clean this up. The enablers need to be branded and barred from public life. Can’t wait for this show to be cancelled.
The good old-boy patriarch is no longer playing nice in the sandbox. Who needs engineered drama on reality tv when we have the American government?
While a handful of Republicans mumble verisimilitudes of conscience and responsibility, they all have their ears tuned to the sound of pikes being sharpened.
Only Bolton was savvy enough — and retained enough personal integrity (despite any disagreement the public has with his views or policies) — to not only avoid that fate, but to present a real threat of skewering donald in return.
And to have Fox attempt to paint him as a 'leftist' — going off the cliff of the absurd — is truly a laugh for the ages.
Except that there is a segment of the population who will go right along with it.
If, as Frank writes, Bolton survived Trump, where those like Pompeo may not, it seems clear that being his own man was the key. Interesting, eh?
Anytime an op-ed columnist says that Trump "can't" do something because of how distinguished, smart, honest or whatever a person is, I immediately stop reading.
'a little authoritarianism never hurt anyone' a handy reference for dictators everywhere.
What I find truly hilarious is how Bolton morphed overnight from being a darling of the right and a regular on Fox News to being a sneaky Democratic mole who wormed his way into the Trump administration just so he could betray the president. At this point in time Republicans seem to be having a hard time deciding friend from foe.
1
So, here is where we are: the country is on edge, clutching our throats in fear, hope, and anticipation that one man will actually stand up before Congress and—wait for it—tell the truth about the President.
On the positive side, we have Bolton who, one might surmise, is very willing to be truthful about someone who lied about extorting an ally, and even lied about firing him. On the other side, we have the world’s greatest deliberative body willing to debase themselves even further than anyone thought possible by doing anything to prevent the truth coming out.
The strange thing, of course, is that like all things Trumpian, everyone know the truth already.
1
Liberals can gladly have John "has never heard of an unjust war" Bolton. I was a bit apprehensive of Pompeo, but all options have to be represented in the war room.
What folks seem to forget is the possibility that Mr
Trump has tapes to back his story up....and all Mr Bolton has are allegations in a book. Be interesting to see how this develops. Bolton's story is not a slam dunk IMHO.
Be careful what you wish for and whom you lionize. Bolton's long, long record as a Reaganite and movement conservative suggests he's no friend of the Democrats nor any of their aims.
Self-Righteous. The common thread connecting this lineup of Times opinion columnists is their self-righteousness, which makes them giddy with pleasure. They accuse this administration of hate, but they could not show any more hatred themselves for the loyal opposition.
As the columnists expend so much hatred, they develop a tolerance for it that forces them to up the ante by foolish and dangerous escalation to comparisons with the great tyrants and bigots of our time. Mr. Bruno would love to use the “H” name, but even he can, for now, can see how those who had suffered at the hands of the real thing would take offense.
Trump is certainly a vulgar and profane person (not unlike Lyndon Johnson, although LBJ committed a far more impeachable offense when he used the Gulf of Tonkin hoax to get a free hand with Vietnam from Congress). Trump, however, has offended through his mouth principally. Those he has offended through actions are only a few more than most presidents are forced to harm in the course of duty.
In fact, for those many Americans who are not hooked on political hatred, the sad truth is that to them the last three years have looked a lot like years of peace and prosperity.
1
Hmm. what Bolton testifies and doesn't "deliver the goods" that the Dems want ? Will he then be called a political hack looking to sell books and the "trial is NOT fair? There seems to have been many last minute Spartacus moments that haven't quite pan out.
Warmest regards,
Ray
What a said state of affairs. We sure miss “No Drama Obama”. The Trump Administration will go down as one of the worst in U.S. history, if we survive it.
1
To think, America's savior could be John Bolton? John Bolton, one of the more dependable and committed die-hard conservative dogs has a bottom of the barrel from which to marvel at Trump's impressive depths. If we weren't worried about the direction of the country under renegade, childish and blatantly unconstitutional rule by the lawless Republican Party before now, John Bolton's account of Trump's shenanigans should have us demanding the entirety of the Republican Party be impeached for dishonoring their oaths to defend the Constitution against ALL enemies, foreign and DOMESTIC!!!
1
Bolton's book belongs in Barnes and Nobles, prominently placed on a display endcap in the fiction section. His testimony is not credible and even if it were, he has no voice. This farcical witch hunt must come to an end. Democrats have lied since the beginning of the trial and the beginning of their history as a party. When haven't Democrats lied and concocted elaborate hoaxes to cover up for their evil, tyrannical and totalitarian history.
Get it done, McConnell.
Bolton's not a slouch. Not by a longshot. Bolton attended Yale University, earning a B.A. and graduating summa cum laude in 1970, then attended Yale Law School, earning a J.D. in 1974. He served Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and G.W. Bush in high level positions for years, before joining Trump's administration as National Security Advisor.
Yes, that's why all Republicans fear statements Bolton will make when he testifies. He does not mess around.
But whether it is before the Senate, or directly to the American public in interviews, public forums, or in other direct statements, Bolton Will Testify.
And, testimony from Pompeo, Mulvaney, Duffey from OMB, and McCusker from DOD will fill out the picture, with questioning from both republicans and democrats illuminating and informative.
Get it done, McConnell.
Stop hiding the truth.
For once, do what's right and not what's in it for you.
Get It Done.
The Devil you know...yes, we’re all pretty familiar with that analogy.
I can’t believe that I’m actually looking for John Bolton to come to our (by OUR, I’m thinking of all the sane people on this planet who believe that Trump is ruining our planet) rescue and force a vote in the Senate for witnesses to testify.
Definition of the word Quagmire.
Watch 3 days of testimony by the Democratic managers and probably believe almost everything you hear IF you’re a Democrat and have an IQ above say 90.
Watch Republican Lawyers and Republican Sycophants rebuttal with an actual straight face make up stories about almost everything EXCEPT FACTS! but still have to watch MSNBC or CNN to confirm what you already believe to be lies.
Even IF Bolton testifies, Trump will remain in office and tell the world that HE’s been cleared of all wrongdoing.
But wait! There’s more!
If Bernie wins the nomination, we’ll lose the election.
If Bernie loses the nomination, He and His followers will rebel and NOT support whomever the Democrats nominate.
Again, we’ll lose the election.
Solution?
Mike Bloomberg. Stay tuned!
1
Senate Republicans are admitting that they will vote against calling Bolton as a witness because they are more afraid of Donald Trump's wrath and finding out more damaging information about Trump's conduct than they are of public reaction to their craven behavior. If you want evidence that Republicans are fine if we become a banana republic with Trump as dictator-lite and themselves as slavish toadies, there it is.
1
I, like many others, do not know John Bolton. But if I was to hazard a guess I'd bet he has read Machiavelli's "The Prince." With a hefty sprinkling of Sun Tzu, too. All clearly to good effect.
I further suspect our current POTUS, a person who apparently does not read at all, someone who does not so much plot his future as react to it as it is occurring, has nary a clue as to how he has been, is being, set up by the man.
This is almost Shakespearean isn't it?
John~
American Net'Zen
Apparently Mr. Bolton is not content to be an expendable character in Mr. Trump's current reality show: "Apprentice, White House series". Hilarious.
The ancient Rome used to be the Republic before the Senators willfully surrendered their powers to the future emperor...
"If trump had a history of lying, I would be more inclined to believe Bolton."
Said nobody, ever.
I suspect that we will find that John Bolton is more like Robert Mueller than John Dean. And certainly Joe Biden is looking more and more like another VP of the Nion days: Spiro Agnew.
Must admit I never imagined how that a majority of Senators would go to sleep at the switch. Based on the evidence so far, without Bolton, this is no Profiles in Courage call---any normal jury would be out for under an hour on this trial. I would say to all those Trumper Republicans, enjoy your ideological joyride for now, but it will not end well.
Imagine for a moment that a Democrat was president, surrounded him/herself with toadies, engaged in pay-to-play, lied to the public every waking hour, what McConnell and his servants would engage in. Open warfare. Blood in the aisles.
Fox “News”, as Mr. Bruni so eloquently states as the Trump administration applicant pool, would be running “Breaking News” banners non-stop. The president is crooked and corrupt the banners would read. Removal from office the talking heads would admonish.
Yet, we hear little from the GOP politicians who cannot be so ignorant to the facts that Trump is a corrupt individual.
Sadly, McConnell and Graham, will never remove from office a person they must see as corrupt-and inept.
Some of us are still waiting to see Trump's tax returns...
Hiring Bolton in the first place and--unbelievably--to be in charge of the nation's security must rank as the worst decision Trump has made to date. When Bush assigned Bolton as our nation's ambassador to the United Nations, (an appointment that only made sense if one was interested in harming the institution and our standing among nations), it ranked high on the list of that president's crimes and misdemeanors. Bolton is so insane that Frank Bruni's headline makes little sense. Who knows what makes the man laugh? Figuring out what makes the man tick would take a Herman Melville or a Nikolai Gogol.
Republicans like Pompeo are getting testy as they are asked, over and over, to answer the unanswerable. It must be stressful to have to concoct a new lie, a new unjustifiable justification, to suit each new revelation. Hence remarks like McSally's "liberal hack" outburst, said with more calculation than sincerity. The enemy of liars is the truth.
It really doesn't matter what Bolton's motives were for writing his book. What matters is that he is willing to sing like a prize canary in front of all those Senators AND Chief Justice Roberts.
Trump and his team of traitor-like followers can only scream "liar" so often before its impact becomes ineffective. And such is the case at this crossroads in the witness pool - John Bolton.
I think Bolton is probably the toughest guy out there and I think his mere presence at the trial makes Trump's legal team shake and quake in their overpaid designer spoons.
While John Bolton "survived Trump" I truly do not believe this country will if he beats the impeachment rap and more importantly, if he gets re-elected come Nov. 3rd.
Thanks for another informative, humorous and stellar comment Mr. Bruni. You are a main reason why I subscribe to the NYT!!
1
You are a good writer. I love your ending, “He survived Trump. I’d read that book.”
At a certain point, loyalty to Trump must give way to the Constitution. Bolton is many things, but he isn't one to blithely skip along toward an American tyranny. Hannity, Rush, et al are apparently closeted authoritarians- provided they're in the ruling class. Bolton at least possesses a semblance of loyalty to our founding legal document over our orange demagogue.
I see from the picture that he, Bolton, has adopted the royal wave. I recognise this from the fact that I used to live near Bolton (the town, not the man) and the Queen once drove past and did the same thing. Political royalty in his case, however
If John Bolton denied that there was a "quid quo pro", would he sell a single book?
How can he have the last laugh? We have no idea what he is going to say, if anything.
John Bolton has left Senate Republicans naked. Trump's GOP dismissed the dozen professionals expert witnesses, with decades each of service, medals galore, corroborating testimony and notes. They cannot disappear John Bolton. They're not in his league. The chicken-hawk is an eagle.
Bolton is getting the last laugh on those who think he is the guy to take down Trump. Bolton has never in his life been as famous as he is today. Bolton playing coy is just helping his upcoming book sales. Bolton could go on any talking head show and put this baby to rest. I think Bolton is playing everybody for chumps.
1
excellent, mr. bruni. you 'nailed' it once again.
In alternate reality, Republicans are smart; they catch the Bolton train and dump Trump. Bolton becomes President, and Republicans become more ultra right, and bomb middle east and make a parking lot of it; super scary!
No more adjectives
Can we just think that Mr Bolton decided to do the right thing? Period
Can we ?
Thanks Mr Bruni, one of your best! I laughed (ruefully) through the entire article.
Bolton? If Bernie wins the Democratic nomination Trump will win the election and Trump will get the last laugh.
1
Extra, Extra, read all about it! An excerpt from a tell-all, unpublished book forces the greatest deliberative body on earth to its knees!
Before we hail John Bolton as a savior, let's remind ourselves that he is pussyfooting around, playing coy, being a tease.
He could have held a press conference and just said what he had to say. He could have contacted the House committees involved in impeachment and coughed up his story to them.
He dallied so that the House decided not to play wack-a-mole with him, then he said that he would honor a Senate subpoena, and now tidbits of his book are leaking.
He's having his cake both ways. He can appear to be a man of principle and he can still scramble to maintain some semblance of dayjobbing as a pundit.
He's Susan Collins in a suit. Acts like he's going to do the right thing, but then won't quite.
Don't hold your breath.
Since time eternal, honor, integrity, moral, and ethics has always collided with money!!!
Let's see who wins this time.
Revenge is a dish best served cold. And Bolton is a master of revenge.
The signals were there that this was the way it was going to play out when Trump forced Bolton’s hand. He may not take down HRH Agent Orange but if we’re lucky, a few of his man servants will fall.
History is full of cautionary stories in similar circumstances. Might be a good time to pick up that first grade primer and learn to read.
Above average column Frank, but shows your (and especially your reader's!) nativity when it comes to inside baseball in WDC. Probably Trump's only saving grace is/was his opposition to America's endless wars syndrome; had Bolton held sway the odds are high that we would have bombed Iran, pushed N. Korea to the brink, and made relations with China even worse than they are by confronting their ambitions in the South China Seas. That's not even including whatever plans he had for Russia.
Bolton is THE ultimate Beltway insider - he covers all the bases and the outfield to boot. Hardly the savior your readers think. He's the type that probably spent half his time at the White House keeping notes for his book and chatting with his think tank cronies and sundry Reagan/Bush
Let's not feel relief or celebrate just yet, Frank. Its happened a dozen or more times.
1
NY Times headline read “Republicans Scramble to Block Testimony”. Just read that. Scramble to block testimony. It should read “scramble to obstruct justice”.
Amazing what we live in now. People in the streets are the only fix.
A lot of schadenfraude here. Let's hope there are no surprises from Bolton in support of DJT.
No, our President will have "the last laugh"...
After he is acquitted in the senate and wins reelection in November.
More dem nonsense..another example of the Dems "winning the battle..but losing the war"
1
I remember when Bolton was appointed to the U.N. under Bush. He was described as a kiss-up-kick-down sort of guy. It's interesting that he's now kicking up.
The stench of Trump will linger in the Republican Party for generations to come. It is all positively Shakespearean.
W. L. Valenti
Portland, Oregon
Jury is still out whether this is the last laugh. I see no reason to suppose that Bolton’s unpublished book is anything but the first giggle of what is yet to come.
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Have we all forgotten Bolton and the fictitious "WMD?" Like all right-wingers, Bolton dissembles - often and well.
However, when weighed against Trump's pathological mendacity, Bolton is as honest as the afternoon is long.
No sane person would believe anything Trump says or tweets; reasonable people hearing Bolton will sometimes trust but always verify.
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When John Bolton is a hero of the left?
we are truly through the looking glass
Alice got home
Will we?
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@Bonnie Rudner
Bolton is not the hero of anyone I know on the left, myself included. We all realize he doesn't hold dear the values we do, but neither does trump, and anyone who can contribute to trump's defeat is going to be praised. At least, that will be the case for those of us who love this country.
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@Bonnie Rudner not a hero of the left. a hero to those who respect the constitution. just so happens the only ones respecting that right now fall on the left side of the spectrum. i can wear more than one hat.
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@Bonnie Rudner, I agree, and consider how they praised Mueller--Semper Fi GOP guy--as the second coming of George Washington. Look at the heroics he delivered.
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The NY Times has brilliantly covered the impeachment hearings and has presented factual and accurate coverage, as should be expected of the very best in reporting what is happening in the world. However, there is nothing like the honest and at times humorous opinions expressed by Frank Bruni. Thank you, Frank for always saying it like it is.
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Now that Trump has attacked Bolton publicly and disclosed Trump's version of events, there is nothing stopping Bolton from going on a Sunday morning program and disclosing what happened concerning Ukraine. Bolton has been attacked by Trump flunkies in the Senate such as Rand Paul and by Fox. He has no future with Fox or with Trump enablers among the Republicans. There is little downside to Bolton of talking now. I would rather he testify to the Senate, where he would be under oath and subject to cross examination. Unless this happens, let him go on television. If Fox will let him tell his story, a big "if" but it would move ratings, let him go there.
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West Point should recall his degree for behavior unbecoming their institution.
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Errol Morris should do a short documentary with Bolton like he did back in 2003 with McNamara in the excellent Fog of War.
Only that John Bolton is such an unpopular figure beyond the neocon crowd, that having him against Trump, or anyone for that matter, Republican and Democrat, is a badge of honor.
Ask the question where would we be if Col Vinmen and the whistle blower did not report on the phone call??? Zylensky makes the announcement of an investigation of the Bidens and the election would have been totally compromised.
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@JC -- Ask the next question. If Biden had gone, would the Democrats have been able to rally around somebody else by now? Would Democrats benefit in the end?
This is like imagining the world with a President Gore instead of Dubya. There are up sides too.
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@JC It probably still will be, since Republicans are determined to let Trump skate, and I wouldn't be surprised if part of why they will is to allow him to cheat to win and keep the WH in the R column. That is certainly all McConnell cares about, and we've seen the sleaze McConnell is willing to employ to get what he wants. Trump will see his acquittal as permission to go even further n trying to corrupt the election in his favor. Remember Trump calling Hillary "crooked", while he was being ordered to pay $25 million for having defrauded people via a scam university? Remember Trump saying the election was rigged, when everyone thought Hillary would win? You know how Trump is now expressing fury over corruption in Ukraine? ... Trump projects...a lot.
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With all respect, Frank. this is no laughing matter. The nation is in the balance.
John Bolton is the "smoking gun" to which Rep. Charles Wiggins (R-CA) referred during the Nixon impeachment process. I see politics quite differently on almost every issue from Mr. Wiggins, but he is an honorable man. When the smoking gun at last emerged, he abandoned the fight for Nixon.
That is what the Republican leadership fears. That is precisely why the leadership is determined to prevent Bolton's testimony (and any other testimony). That is the goal of the cover-up.
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Great writing, I hope it all comes true. This is an either/or world at this point. Like or be honest leaves no room for negotiation. Yoda knew it, "Do. Or do not. There is no 'try.'"
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I have long believed that Trump should be removed from office. Not because of his disastrous policies, but because of his sheer incompetence in running a cabinet and White House staff. This message was brought home in Bob Woodward's excellent book, "Fear."
Trump made not the best appointments to like national security advisor. But even his own choices often tried to steer him away from his most extreme impulses, and Trump has beaten them back. Voices of reason get fired by tweet. It is not so much that his policies are wrong (although most of them are) as that he has surrounded himself with sycophants who simply fall in line behind his message, not matter how crazy the latest twist.
But the sad fact is that the constitution did not really foresee the need to remove a president for incompetence. And as Alan Dershowitz argued so eloquently in his presentation on Monday, the charges of "abuse of power" and "obstruction of Congress" are too general to form a convincing case for conviction.
The key question now is: Will the Democrats lose the 2020 election because of an ever more extreme march to the left?
The Me Too movement has made a travesty of the Bill of Rights. I believe that the vast majority of Me Too accusations are false. But how can one know for sure when there is no due process?
Historians say that perhaps 40,000 to 60,000 were executed for witchcraft during the period 1500-1750 in Central Europe. And we now know that witches don't actually exist.
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Interesting that Democrats hated Bolton and didn’t believe him until he got fired and retaliated against his former boss. All of a sudden he’s a respectable truth seeker. He’s the same far right whackado as before and not one bit more credible. At best it’s a he said she said case with little fact supporting Bolton’s claims. And even though the Republicans may be one or two votes shy of the majority required to prevent witnesses they have plenty of votes to block the two thirds votes necessary to convict. Including many Democrats who have stated they are leaning toward dismissing the case. Bolton’s unsubstantiated claims will not sway the Senate enough to change that.
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There are a great number of Republicans who have garnered the respect of Democrats and Independents, because despite differing views on policy, they are joined by the same loyalty and reverence for the rule of law and the American Constitution. Donald Trump has shattered and defiled rule of law , as well as the Republican Party as we have known it. And the hogwash and garbage that has been spewing out of Trump’s mouth as well as those who remain loyal to him results in a stench that is almost unbearable even to the most compassionate and tolerable individual.
Many of us disagree with John Bolton about his foreign policy, but ultimately we respect John Bolton because in spite of the differences, a common goal is shared. The only thing that Donald Trump shares with anybody is himself,his criminality , and his malignant narcissism .
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No one is under the illusion that the senate will convict. It’s all a show for the election. And a ‘roaring good time’ if you ask me. Pass the popcorn!
@B. T. - The Democrats disliked Bolton because he is a dangerous hot-headed hawk, always going after the military option as default. No one doubted his sincerity.
and after all this, pence just said trump didn't push him to pressure ukraine.
i wonder if bolton was present for the opposite. i would say the likelihood is there.
in the meantime, it turns out that trump hardly knows anybody. his memory has failed.
invoke the 25th amendment?
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Now there is John Bolton's book. When is enough, enough? During the Trump Administration there are constant revelations about Trump's conduct and lying, but nothing seems to dislodge congressional Republicans or the so-called base. The question today is, will Bolton be able to testify in the impeachment trial? If he does testify and backs up the articles of impeachment, will the Republicans vote to remove the president. Trump will probably be acquitted, because there is no one in the Republican party that displays any profile in courage. It's important for the American people to vote Trump out of office and for the Democrats to take back the Senate so that this country can move forward.
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If, as claimed, Pompeo was first in his class at West Point, there are serious problems at the Military Academy. They claim to be teaching honor and integrity. Not evident in their top grad.
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An officer and a gentleman he is not.
No, I do not support Donald Trump, nor do I like him. Did not vote for him, but I did cast my vote, and that is the way Americans elect a President or Senator or Clerk of Court. The venom dripping from President Trump's opposition is frightening. Our system of government results in swings to the right and left, and that is a good balance in time.
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@Monte I think the contempt is well earned. Nor does it negate a very strong case Trump crossed a line when he strong-armed the Ukraine for political dirt on the Bidens.
I have found him utterly contemptible since he road down that escalator. Its personal with me: He’s the embodiment of every thing my late father taught me by word and example. That said, being an immoral so-and-so is not impeachable. The Ukrainian bribery, however, is, and is clearly so.
@Monte Waddill: Well, facts are venom to liars...
@Monte Waddill The venom dripping from Donald Trump's mouth is even more frightening.
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Bolton is good for what he says, and no one who is being honest can take that away from him.
The fact that he is also canny and strategic beyond the discernment of many should also be kept in mind when estimating his effect on the Impeachment Trial.
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Even if Mr. Bolton testifies in Mr. Trump’s impeachment trial as per Democrats demands, it will most likely prolong the trial, at the end, nothing tangible will happen in the way Democrats’ desire. Given his position as a former National Security Advisor, during his tenure, Mr. Bolton might have had several interactions with Mr. Trump. Still, it does not necessarily mean everything he says need to be taken at face value. It is unclear why Mr. Bolton has not levelled his allegations openly so far, even after his termination, even after the start of the impeachment process itself. Further, these allegations coming a few months before his book launch, only adds credence to Mr. Trump’s theory of this disclosure is to the increase books sales (‘World’ page, “Trump denies telling Bolton Ukraine aid was tied to probe”, January 28). Unless Mr. Bolton backs up his claims with substantial evidence, hardly the course of impeachment trial will be changed.
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McConnell is playing the media, giving the Republicans who need it time to make cover/statements they want witnesses to use in their reelection campaign. Friday will roll around, Trump will have created many deflections, people and media will have moved onto Trump's latest developments and the Senate GOP will vote for no witnesses. Vote no on removal. Case closed. Then Trump will crow total exoneration at his SOTU.
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Trump Republicans are pulling out all of the stops to discredit Ambassador Bolton. Whose word do we believe? Trump the pathological liar and his minions of deception? Or Bolton the Warhawk, a man who is unable to pacify his aggressive tendencies? Bolton’s testimony may provide the smoking gun that convicts Trump, if they can’t stop his testimony or conceal it from the public their only option is to discredit him. I think they need to call in Putin or Netanyahu, maybe Bibi will intervene on Trumps behalf to get through this impeachment?
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Are we approaching a tipping point?
The Senate’s failure to remove Trump and the entire shameful Pence, Giuliani, Pompeo, Graham, Nunes, McConnell parade of blindness and willful denial may turn out a vote that consigns them to the ignominy they have labored so long and hard to deserve.
We can only hope.
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@Fred. It won’t move the true believers, but I suspect that those who held their noses and voted for him over HRC are having buyer’s remorse.
Further, Dems would do well to point out how uneven the booming economy has been. My stocks and bonds are pumping along, those in lower middle class or in the gig economy are probably not feeling the love. Dems need to message the uneven recovery. Everyone who cares already knows what sort of moral cripple DJT is.
Am enjoying this bit of panic amongst McConnell's flock of lemmings, all upset they've been blind sided by Bolton's manuscript.
What's funny is they've been blindsided by trump himself.
It's reported the White House has had the manuscript for a month. They buried it. McConnell's plan was to have the trial over with, with trump acquitted by the end of this week or the first of next week at the latest - long before the actual book came out in March.
Which gave them plenty of time to bad mouth Bolton, discredit the book, and frame public opinion to trump's advantage.
Woops. The best laid plans.....
"Men plan, God laughs" - me too.
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The fact that as a knee jerk reactionary, bleeding heart liberal, yellow dog Democrat, I am now rooting for the likes of John Bolton, the FBI and CIA should be proof enough that Trump has turned the world upside down. I can't believe that the elected members of the Republican party continue to support and defend him.
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After hopes that the US would be saved by Mathis, Allen, McMaster, Mueller and others we have come full circle: now it is John Bolton who is needed to save the republic?
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Reading this article by Mr. Bruni disgusts me. As a retired America, I spent almost seven decades believing in the honesty, integrity and American values of fairness as our most important assets for our national leaders. With this President, none of these character assets exist. The President's cabinet are partisan sycophants as Mr. Bruni emphasizes that will sacrifice their own political survival over the interest of the United States and the United States Constitution. It is time to for the American people to stand up and demand that democracy and decency be restored to our great country. If we fail to do this, America will be an autocratic dictatorship with incompetent and sycophant incompetent high levels leaders doing exactly what they are ordered to do by a very dangerous and irrational man (President Trump) who puts himself, his money, his theft (i.e., Trump University, the Trump Foundation and his re-election) over the protection of the American people.
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Last laugh? There’s nothing funny about what’s going on in this country - except maybe to Vladimir Putin, Kim, to those in Iran, Turkey, and every where else around the world where people are laughing their heads off over the stupidity of Donald Trump.
The Bolton episode is just a January, 2020 chapter in the long, sick, three years our lives have had to endure.
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This fawning over Bolton is revolting. The Democrats keep placing their hopes on everyone - Mueller, Bolton - to save the day. Meanwhile, their milquetoast policies and concerns about "Trump voters" keep their base demoralized.
Bolton is the just latest Republican to monetize his government service to line his own pockets. He could have been heroic and patriotic like Lt. Col. Vindman or Maria Yavanovich, but he chose to make a buck.
Bolton is a war hawk who loves to spend trillions of taxpayer dollars to send our citizens to war while he earns more money.
15
I am sick and tired of living in the Trump and Republican American Government reality show privately funded by donors for favors. Our lives through no fault of our own have enough stress without the daily twists and turns, ugliness, lies, game playing that has saturated the news since the reincarnation of PT Barnum descended the escalator and was propelled and morphed into being sent by divine intervention to save us all. Gore Vidal would have a field day with the cast of characters, I mourn his loss opportunity. As for Bolton, Kelly, all those who departed due to the insanity of it all had they cooperated after the Muellar Report with first hand knowledge of the lunacy and stupidity we wouldn't be living with Alex Jones' diabolical twin in the Oval office and Republicans would have been saved from scurrying like crazed rats defending Trump during an election year. They ignore the fact this is an international reality show, they have no respect for the injustices the American citizens have experienced due to the turmoil created by Trump. International opinions? Trump is a laughing stock and America has no credibility. Our national security is beyond compromised, we are more in line with Turkey, Brazil or Poland.
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It's interesting that the people who work for Trump become the most avid critics of him.
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I just worry that Trump will offer Bolton a war, any war he wants, in exchange for his silence or favorable testimony.
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It would be nice if anyone in the orbit of Trump would be willing to speak the truth, avoid bald-faced partisan lying, and display even a modicum of fealty to the Constitution. Call me crazy!
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When Trump falsely claimed he "fired" Bolton and then took it one step further by dissing him, I thought to myself, "Careful, Donny. This one is smart and doesn't like being humiliated and called a liar. But he will bide his time." And so it seems to have come to pass. Would Bolton's testimony make any difference to the sycophants, lapdogs and boot lickers who toady to Trump and will never vote to convict him? Probably not. But Bolton appears to be Trump's and McConnell's worst nightmare right now, and I'm more than happy to see them squirm. They are terrified of the truth.
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They are not afraid of the truth. They are afraid that the truth will get out in a manner that all American voters will be able to understand
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The republicans are now in a lose-lose position. No matter what they do, they will lose. Shall they not call Bolton to testify, they will be seen as what they really are, a gang of self-serving bureaucrats pretending to serve the national interest. Shall they call Bolton to testify, they will have to face the naked truth “on the record”: Trump must be ousted. If as foreseen, in spite of all uncontestable evidence they acquit him, they will show themselves as abettors, and the Americans will throw them out in November.
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I come by my scathing contempt for Bolton honestly, have (unfortunately) watched that hateful cartoon of a man perform his reactionary bluster act for over 3 decades, but I love that he's turning his arrogant wrath on an even worse, and much more dangerous, lying right winger.
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I laugh that the broadly disdained John Bolton is now a sought after hero. Oh the ironies of life! Who could have predicted that it might be Bolton, of all people, to save the day? Of course much remains to be seen .... but just the possibility of Bolton to the rescue is the surprise twist straight out of the movies.
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