Most of the Sunday political talk shows had already aired by the time The New York Times reported that former National Security Adviser John Bolton reveals first-hand information on President Trump linking Ukraine military aid to Kyiv investigating Joe Biden and other Democratic targets in his upcoming book. But Kasie Hunt's MSNBC show Kasie DC had not taped, and she got what we might think of as a first draft of the Senate Republican response from Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.).
Earlier Sunday, NBC's Chuck Todd had asked Braun on Meet the Press about Trump's impeachment trial, on which Braun serves as a juror. He said the Democratic House impeachment managers had "put together a broad, comprehensive case" last week, but it was "circumstantial in nature."
Now that there appears to be first-hand evidence from a willing witness, Hunt asked Braun Sunday evening, "do you care that John Bolton is saying that the president had a quid pro quo for money that Congress authorized for this purpose?" Braun said you have to consider the whole of Bolton's allegations, including his integrity. "Do you question John Bolton's integrity?" Hunt asked. "No," Braun said, "but you'd go through that." He added that the case so far "didn't deliver the goods," and "it'll be interesting to see what happens" with the new revelation.
We finally know the kind of information Bolton could testify to, if four Republicans agree to subpoena him, so "how can you stand up and say, 'Sorry, I don't want to hear it?'" Hunt asked. "We'll all have to size that up and see what we think, how it impacts our own decisions on what we do with more information," Braun answered.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) had an easier time with the question. Peter Weber