Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Sunday he wants former White House national security adviser John Bolton to testify in the House Intelligence Committee’s impeachment probe, but assumes the Trump administration will push back.
In an interview on ABC News’ “This Week,” Schiff, who heads the panel, called Bolton “a very important witness.”
“We already know from the testimony of others that this is someone who was concerned that people in the State Department — Ambassador [to the European Union Gordon] Sondland and others, [acting White House chief of staff Mick] Mulvaney — were cooking up a ‘drug deal,’” Schiff said.
“And by that he meant a corrupt deal, involving withholding a White House meeting or perhaps the withholding of aid as well, for these political purposes."
President Donald Trump's former Russia adviser Fiona Hill testified that Bolton told her to alert the chief national security council lawyer that Rudy Giuliani was "cooking up" a "rogue operation" with Mulvaney and Sondland, Axios noted.
The Washington Post has also reported Bolton warned U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer that Trump would likely oppose restoring some of Ukraine's trade privileges — an indication the suspension of assistance to Ukraine may have extended beyond just military aid.
Schiff said he expects the House committees to start conducting public hearings "soon," but wouldn't outline a specific timeline.
A video clip of the exchange was posted by Axios.