Schumer: Trade of Hunter Biden Impeachment Testimony 'Off the Table'

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday ruled out a so-called witness trade in which Republicans call witnesses Democrats want in exchange for former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden testifying in President Donald Trump's impeachment trial.

"I think that's off the table. First of all the Republicans have the right to bring in any witness they want. They haven't wanted to and that trade is not on the table," Schumer told reporters during a break in the Senate trial.

Schumer said earlier that only witnesses with direct knowledge of Trump's actions related to Ukraine should testify.

Biden's name has been floated in a potential testimony trade with onetime National Security Adviser John Bolton.

According to Business Insider, President Trump has explicitly said he doesn't want Bolton to testify in his impeachment trial.

He said Wednesday that he was opposed because "it's a national security problem."

"He knows some of my thoughts," Trump told reporters, said BI. "He knows what I think about leaders. What happens if he reveals how I feel about another leader and it's not positive ... it would make the job a lot harder."

But his knowledge of Trump's thought process is precisely why Democratic leaders are pushing to have Bolton testify.

Many Dems say Bolton, who has indicated he's willing to testify in the impeachment trial, is a firsthand witness to the president's efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate Hunter Biden, his father -- former Vice President and front-running 2020 presidential contender Joe Biden -- and their business dealings in that country.