Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

fleur-de-lisa

(14,624 posts)
Fri Jan 31, 2020, 04:54 PM Jan 2020

Bolton may have known about Devin Nunes and that's why he didn't want to testify in the House

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/01/bolton-may-have-known-about-devin-nunes-and-thats-why-he-didnt-want-to-testify-in-the-house-ex-republican-rep/

One of the strange comments from former national security adviser John Bolton was that he was willing to testify before the Senate but not the House. Democrats had no knowledge or expectations of what Bolton would say, though his story is now being slowly leaked from excerpts of his manuscript. It prompted speculation from former Florida Republican Rep. David Jolly during an MSNBC discussion Friday.

MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace explained that she thought the House managers did an exceptional job, but who disgraced the Republicans was Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA).

“I mean, is it possible that John Bolton just didn’t want to sit in front of Devin Nunes, who may be another thug, another Lev Parnas figure in the entire smear campaign?” Wallace asked.

“Yeah, but I think we’re going to find out that Bolton knew some of what Nunes was doing,” said Jolly. “Maybe that’s why he didn’t want to testify. But I’ll tell you, Nicolle, it struck me, the more we talk about John Bolton, and this reporting today from the New York Times, that Bolton was in the room and Bolton knew about this. You know who else was in the room at one point, and learned the same things? The whistleblower. And he went to Congress. You know who else? Lt. Col. Vindman. And he went to Congress. Fiona Hill, went to Congress.”

“The president and his team never created room for Republicans on the Hill to be reasonable,” Jolly continued. “And what will be interesting — you know apparently what is driving the delay is Senators want to be able to go on the record. And that happened on the House, they opened the floor up for two days and any member who wanted to speak, they let them speak. So, I think what we’re seeing is, if you didn’t have this delay then the senate record would only be the presentation and the written questions. So, this allows senators to speak It will be telling because we all are gleaning some of the perspectives now from written statements of the senators. Marco Rubio said, just because a president engages in an impeachable behavior doesn’t mean you should remove him from office.”

Jolly went on: “I think [Lisa] Murkowski (R-AK) surprised a lot of people because she said it’s the House’s fault that this process has become so corrupt we can’t prove. Even [Rob] Portman (R-WI) kind of took his ding at the House. So, I think what we’re seeing is some of the initial statements is, nerves are kind of, they’re raw right now.”

“What’s so interesting is that this is arguably the worst case of what Bolton has had to say yet,” said former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance about the revelations released from the Bolton book.

He went on to say that Bolton has got to do the same because it’s the only way his story can be entered into the record.
When it came to the way the White House ran the impeachment, Jolly explained the political fallout for Senators is going to be brutal whether they go on the record or not.
7 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies

cynatnite

(31,011 posts)
4. I can't imagine Bolton refusing to testify because of Nunes...
Fri Jan 31, 2020, 04:58 PM
Jan 2020

Bolton has always struck me as someone who isn't easily intimidated by much of anything. He's an asshole and I hate his policies, but I have to disagree with Nicole on this one.

Mike 03

(16,616 posts)
5. It's interesting that Bolton approached the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and
Fri Jan 31, 2020, 05:01 PM
Jan 2020

Eliot Engel, a committee Nunes is not on. Maybe he would have testified before them.

Midnight Writer

(21,768 posts)
7. Since Bolton claims this Ukraine scheme started in Jan, and he stayed on until Sept, fully aware,
Fri Jan 31, 2020, 05:19 PM
Jan 2020

and held back his testimony until it was too late, he is as tainted as any of them, including Nunes.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Bolton may have known abo...