John Bolton seemingly doesn't want House impeachment investigators to give up on him just yet

If the House is willing to hold out just a little bit longer, John Bolton might have something to say. But no one's got much of a grasp on what that might be.

President Trump's former national security adviser apparently knows about "many relevant meetings and conversations" connected to the House impeachment inquiry that have not yet been discussed in previous testimonies, his lawyer Charles Cooper wrote in a letter to the House general counsel.

House investigators want to interview Bolton about Trump's interactions with Ukraine, but they have so far refrained from issuing a subpoena to avoid getting drawn into lengthy court proceedings. In the letter, Cooper said Bolton would be willing to talk to cooperate, but only if a court rules he can ignore the White House's objections to his doing so. Bolton's former deputy Charles Kupperman filed a lawsuit asking for a judiciary ruling on whether potential witnesses are obligated to ignore the White House's directions and comply with the investigation, but the House doesn't seem willing to let that play out right now.

Article continues below

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Nobody is really sure what Bolton would say in a potential hearing, so it remains to be seen if the possibility of his testimony is tantalizing enough for the House to reconsider its options. CNN reports, though, that Bolton — who historically has supported executive power — might not think Trump "acted inappropriately" toward Kyiv "even if he's willing to help take down others in the administration." The New York Times, on the other hand, notes that Bolton would at least be able to bring direct knowledge of what Trump has said about the matter, rather than just describing what people around the president have said. Read more at The New York Times and CNN.

Explore More

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.