Bolton upends Republican fight against witnesses

John Bolton has knocked President Donald Trump's speedy acquittal this week off-kilter — at least for the moment.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said Monday it’s “increasingly likely” more Republicans will join calls to seek testimony from Bolton in Trump’s impeachment trial, with the former national security adviser’s new revelations throwing into doubt how Trump’s trial will proceed.

And Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) — who has signaled she is open to supporting witnesses, as she did in former President Bill Clinton's 1999 trial — said it will "strengthen the case" for witnesses. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) added she was "still curious" what Bolton has to say.

Still, members of GOP leadership downplayed the Bolton news. And a deciding Republican voice endorsing hearing from Bolton or other witnesses remains elusive.

It all could come to a head by Friday, when GOP leaders expect the contentious vote on witnesses.

At a Senate GOP lunch Monday, Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania proposed the idea of a witness exchange, which according to an attendee "wasn’t well-received." Toomey's proposal was first reported by The Washington Post. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said during the lunch that Bolton doesn’t change anything and merely was what Democrats have pushed all along, per a person briefed on the matter.

Just days ago, the Senate GOP appeared ready to defeat a vote to hear more witnesses sought by Democrats. But that dynamic appears shaken after it was revealed that Bolton wrote in an upcoming book that Trump told him directly that he withheld aid to Ukraine because he wanted the country to investigate his political rivals, including former Vice President Joe Biden.

Senior Republicans and Democrats alike are unsure whether the president will still get a quick acquittal with no new witnesses before week’s end. Several top Republicans tried to dismiss the Bolton bombshell on Monday, calling it "nothing new" or similar to the late-stage allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior that rocked Brett Kavanaugh's nomination for the Supreme Court in 2018 but didn't tank it.

But both Romney and Collins believe the Bolton revelation could change the contours of the trial.

“It's increasingly likely that other Republicans will join those of us who think we should hear from John Bolton. ... I have spoken with others who have opined upon this,” Romney (R-Utah) told reporters. “It’s important to be able to hear from John Bolton for us to be able to make an impartial judgment."

"The reports about John Bolton's book strengthen the case for witnesses and have prompted a number of conversations among my colleagues," Collins said in a statement. She also noted to reporters she ensured that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s resolution setting up the framework for the impeachment trial guaranteed there would be a vote on witnesses.

But Romney's tactics drew immediate blowback from the right. Appointed Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), who is up for election this fall, tweeted that Romney "wants to appease the left by calling witnesses who will slander the @realDonaldTrump during their 15 minutes of fame."

Yet it was inarguable that the mood on Capitol Hill has changed drastically since the White House wrapped up two hours of its opening arguments on Saturday. Even Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who has been saying for weeks he doesn't want to hear from any witnesses, admitted it "could be" useful to hear from Bolton — as long as the Bidens and other GOP-requested witnesses are hauled into the Senate trial, too.

“We need to figure out what’s best for the court of impeachment, what’s best for country. And that’s something we will have to consider," Graham said. But he doused with ice water the idea of hearing only from Bolton: "If we add to the record, we need to do it completely."

"It may move the needle," Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) said. "I’m not going to deny it’s going to change the decibel level and probably the intensity with which we talk about witnesses."

A spokesman for McConnell said he did not have "any advance notice" about Bolton's book manuscript.

Romney added the caveat that he would still need to hear from the White House to make a decision on whether to hear new witnesses, but he’s said all along that he wants to hear from Bolton. He also said he could not say that Bolton's testimony would determine whether he votes to acquit Trump.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), a key swing vote on witnesses, maintained his stance: He will make a decision on witnesses after the Senate's 16-hour question-and-answer period. At least four Republicans would need to join with all Democrats to advance the question of whether to seek new evidence and hear from witnesses.

So far, McConnell is prevailing. But after being down on their prospects last week, Democrats are wondering whether he could end up having to consider witnesses after all.

“It’s going to be hard to hold back. I don’t know how they do it," said Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). “They’d be hard pressed not to have at least four or five of our Republican colleagues and friends that would” vote for witnesses.

Senate Republicans discussed the news of Bolton’s conversation with Trump, reported by the New York Times, at a party lunch on Monday. McConnell reminded senators they don't need to make a decision on witnesses until later in the week, Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said Monday afternoon.

As Trump attacked Bolton's credibility, some top Senate Republicans used a variety of arguments to downplay the new information from Bolton. Party leaders have been relentlessly arguing that hearing new witnesses could tie up the Senate for weeks if and when Trump exerts executive privilege to block their testimony. Executive privilege generally extends to current staffers, unlike Bolton who Trump fired in September.

“We learned nothing new, nothing new," Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the No. 3 Republican, asserted Monday morning as Senate GOP leaders prepared to meet. "What we’ve now seen is a selective leak from a book. This is like Kavanaugh all over again.”

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), another member of the GOP leadership, said calling new witnesses would set an "incredibly dangerous precedent” of frequent impeachments litigated by the Senate.

“I’m still of the view that the House’s job is to put the case together and they didn’t do that. But members might decide it’s now the Senate’s job,” Blunt said.

Democrats have made a consistent push since the start of the trial to subpoena Bolton, along with acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. Until Sunday evening, however, it seemed that Trump was on a glide path to acquittal by the end of the week.

But Senate Republicans are sure to face growing pressure to justify why they don’t want to hear from Bolton, who heard directly from Trump on the Ukraine aid issue. Bolton’s claims undercut a key argument of Trump’s defense, which held its second day of opening arguments Monday.

Trump's national security adviser from April 2018 to September 2019, Bolton was among top administration officials who urged the president to restore aid to Ukraine. And he's long been respected by the Senate GOP. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) questioned the timing of Bolton's new revelations but didn't attack his credibility: "My guess is John Bolton tells the truth."

Bolton was also very critical of Rudy Giuliani's role in shaping Ukraine policy, calling him a "hand grenade" who would blow up on the White House, according to impeachment testimony from Fiona Hill, a former top NSC aide. Trump said early Monday that he "never told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens."

Republicans "can deny and deny and deny. But Bolton has a credibility that surpasses Rudy Giuliani or Donald Trump,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said.

Heather Caygle, Melanie Zanona and Kyle Cheney contributed to this report.