BPR Politics Round Table: Will Republicans Call John Bolton To Testify In Impeachment Trial?

Trump Impeachment — The Senate side of the U.S. Capitol at sunrise on Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Washington. The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump will resume in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.

Arjun Singh is a producer for Boston Public Radio. A California native, Arjun moved to Boston to study international relations at Boston University. Prior to working at WGBH, Arjun worked at a tech company and for a political campaign.

January 27, 2020

Updated August 07, 2023

In the wake of revelations from an unpublished manuscript written by former National Security Advisor John Bolton’s that President Donald Trump ordered Bolton to freeze security assistance to Ukraine, Democrats renewed their call for witnesses to testify in Trump’s impeachment trial.

A majority of Republican senators have been opposed to calling witnesses. During the first day of the impeachment proceedings, Republican senators tabled an amendment that sought to subpoena additional documents and witnesses in a party line vote. During an interview Monday with Boston Public Radio, Jennifer Braceras, the director of the Center for Law & Liberty at the Independent Women’s Forum, said that she did not find the revelations from Bolton’s manuscript to be remarkable.

Braceras said that many within the Trump administration are aware of Trump’s hyperbolic language and the burden to ensure U.S. policy is carried out properly falls on the shoulders of those within the administration, not the president.

In the case of Trump’s desire to withhold aid from Ukraine, Braceras said since Ukraine eventually received the aid it demonstrated that Trump’s advisors ultimately succeeded in carrying out American policy.

“We know what was said on the phone call...we also know the aid was ultimately handed over. So, the question is did the foreign policy establishment within the administration intervene and have him deliver the aid which they appear to have,” Braceras said. “People are acting this morning as if what Bolton is saying is some sort of smoking gun...I don’t view it that way.”

Michael Curry, Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Mass League of Community Health Centers, joined Braceras Monday and said that Bolton’s testimony is important because it demonstrates that Trump has been lying throughout the impeachment process.

“I think that there is a smoking gun in this,” Curry said. “What he did was an impeachable offense, we’re here because he is continuing to lie and obstructing justice in trying to get to the truth. That is why this matters.”

Curry is Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Mass League of Community Health Centers, and a member of the National NAACP Board of Directors. Braceras is is a political columnist, director of the Center for Law & Liberty at the Independent Women’s Forum and a former Commissioner of the United States Commission on Civil Rights.