WASHINGTON — President Trump told his national security adviser in August that he wanted to continue freezing $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine. The NYTimes states that the president the aid will be held until officials in Ukraine helped with investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens, according to an unpublished manuscript by the former adviser, John R. Bolton.
The president’s statement, as described by Mr. Bolton, could undercut an essential element of his impeachment defense: that the holdup in aid was separate from Mr. Trump’s requests that Ukraine announces investigations into his perceived enemies. Which, including former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son Hunter Biden, who had worked for a Ukrainian energy firm while his father was in office.
Mr. Bolton’s explosive account of the matter at the center of Mr. Trump’s impeachment trial, the third in American history, was included in drafts of a manuscript he has circulated in recent weeks to close associates. He also sent a selection to the White House for a standard review process for some current and former administration officials who write books.
Multiple people described Mr. Bolton’s account of the Ukraine affair.
The book presents an outline of what Mr. Bolton might testify to if called as a witness in the Senate impeachment trial, the people said. The White House could use the pre-publication review process, which has no set time frame, to delay or even kill the book’s publication or omit critical passages. >>> get the full scoop
