'Increasingly Likely' Republicans To Back Bolton Testimony In Impeachment Trial - Romney

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th January, 2020) At least four Republican senators are leaning towards voting along with Democrats to allow former National Security Adviser John Bolton to testify in the impeachment trial of US President Donald Trump, lawmakers said.

"I think at this stage it's pretty fair to say that John Bolton has a relevant testimony ... I think it's increasingly likely that other Republicans will join those of us who think we should hear from John Bolton," Senator Mitt Romney, a Republican from Utah, said on Monday.

On Sunday, the New York Times reported that Bolton in a yet to be published book said Trump told him in August of 2019 about his intention to continue freezing $391 million of approved military aid to Ukraine until Ukrainian officials agreed to open an investigation for corruption into Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

In a separate statement on Monday, US Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, said reports about Bolton's book strengthen the case to call witnesses in the impeachment trial. Collins said the revealing information has prompted a number of conversations among her colleagues.

Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski in a statement on Twitter on Monday said she is curious to hear Bolton's testimony in the Trump-Ukraine scandal.

She added that she backs having a fair trial and giving members of the Senate the opportunity to decide whether more information in the cases is needed.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters he would support issuing a subpoena to get the manuscript from Bolton's book in order to review whether it should be added as evidence in the trial. Graham also pointed out that if the manuscript is added as evidence, then Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, among others, must also be called upon as witnesses.

Just four Republican Senators would give Senate Democrats enough votes to call on Bolton to testify.

Bolton has said that he, along with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, had repeatedly attempted to convince the president to release the aid to Ukraine, but Trump rebuffed their proposals.

House prosecutors finished presenting their arguments against Trump on Friday. The Trump defense began its arguments on Saturday and continued on Monday.

The Senate is expected to vote later this week, when arguments wrap up on Tuesday, whether to allow additional witnesses and evidence in the trial.