Rep. Adam Schiff slams John Bolton: He 'may be an author, but he's no patriot'

Count Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) among those not impressed by former National Security Adviser John Bolton's upcoming tell-all book.

Journalists who have received advanced copies of The Room Where It Happened say Bolton claims, among other things, that President Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to help him win re-election. Bolton also writes that as part of the House impeachment inquiry, Democrats committed "impeachment malpractice" by focusing on Trump's dealings with Ukraine and not looking into Trump avoiding getting involved in investigations of China's ZTE and Turkey's Halkbank.

"Had Democratic impeachment advocates not been so obsessed with their Ukraine blitzkrieg in 2019, had they taken the time to inquire more systemically about Trump's behavior across his entire foreign policy, the impeachment outcome might well have been different," Bolton argues.

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During the House impeachment hearings, Democrats did try to get Bolton to testify about what he knew, but he refused to do so voluntarily because the White House did not want current or former officials participating. His attorneys said they would wait for a subpoena, which Democrats decided against sending because they feared it would spark a legal battle that could have bogged down the inquiry.

Schiff, who served as the lead impeachment manager, tweeted on Wednesday that Bolton's staff had enough "courage" to show up and testify when asked, while he "saved it for a book. Bolton may be an author, but he's no patriot." In a follow-up tweet, Schiff called Bolton's allegations "serious," and said they "demonstrate that Trump's impeachable conduct with Ukraine was part of a clear pattern: Seeking personal political benefit from foreign powers. History will judge Republicans. Harshly."