Kentucky Senator Rand Paul believes that President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, is attempting to use the attention he’s getting as a potential witness during the sham impeachment trial to make a quick buck off his forthcoming book.
During an interview with the Washington Examiner on Monday, the Kentucky Republican described Bolton as a “disgruntled, angry man” whose perspectives should be taken with a grain of salt.
“He wants to sell a book,” Paul declared, in highlighting Bolton’s ulterior motives.
For weeks, congressional Democrats have made the case that Bolton should testify during the impeachment trial. This entire show trial focuses on the allegation that Trump withheld military aid from Ukraine for personal, political purposes.
Demands for Bolton to testify before the Senate have gotten louder this week after The New York Times reported that an unpublished draft of Bolton’s book alleged that Trump wanted to withhold millions of dollars of aid unless Ukrainian officials commenced investigations that could hurt Democrats, which notably included former Vice President and 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden.
Paul, on the other hand, sees the bigger picture.
Although Bolton stated that he is prepared to testify should the Senate subpoena him, Paul believes that Bolton’s desire to testify is based on financial motives.
“It’s corrupt to use your government testimony to make money, don’t you think? So I think he’s doing this for mercantile reasons,” Paul said. “I think you can make a strong argument that he’s ginning up his book. That’s his right, but he’s ginning up his book with the hopes of bringing it in for testimony.
“He’ll make more money if he testifies,” Paul continued.
Paul also noted that Bolton is unlikely to provide any new insights to the case.
“I know what he’s going to say. He’s going to say the president wanted to hold up aid for an investigation into the Bidens,” Paul commented. “What’s he going to tell you that you don’t already know?”
Throughout the Trump era, Paul has been an outspoken ally of the president, especially after the Democrats took the House and quickly made impeachment a major issue.
Even Trump entertained the idea that Bolton is acting out of pure financial self-interest.
Trump tweeted, “I NEVER told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens. If John Bolton said this, it was only to sell a book.”
I NEVER told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens. In fact, he never complained about this at the time of his very public termination. If John Bolton said this, it was only to sell a book. With that being said, the…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 27, 2020
Bolton’s lawyer released a statement dismissing accusations that Bolton timed the release of the explosive revelations from his book with the current impeachment proceedings.
.“There was absolutely no coordination with the New York Times or anyone else,” Bolton’s lawyer claimed. “Any assertion to the contrary is unfounded speculation.”
Everyone knows that Trump will not be convicted in the Senate because there are simply not enough votes to convict him.
Nevertheless, this Bolton drama represents one of the biggest failures of this administration.
Trump should have never hired Bolton in the first place as national security adviser.
Now, Bolton is making sure to play petty politics, like the seasoned neoconservative that he is.
From now on, Trump must recognize that personnel selection is incredibly important.
If he wants to see his America First vision through without internal drama, Trump must make wiser decisions with regards to personnel.
