White House counsel Pat Cipollone (Photo: Screen capture)
John Bolton released another new bombshell in his forthcoming book -- and places President Donald Trump's lead impeachment attorney as a fact witness in the Ukraine extortion plot.
The former national security adviser revealed that Trump asked for his assistance in May to extract damaging information from Ukraine's government about Joe Biden, and Bolton wrote that White House counsel Pat Cipollone and acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney were present in the Oval Office for that conversation, reported the New York Times.
The revelation -- which came hours after Republicans appeared to have sewn up the votes needed to bar new witness testimony -- shocked readers.
Holy fuck. https://t.co/K94t0cUojq— Brian Beutler (@Brian Beutler) 1580490461.0
@rgoodlaw This is really important, from the new NYT scoop: Pat Cipollone, who is leading the White House impeachm… https://t.co/sbatyBvRg5— Greg Sargent (@Greg Sargent) 1580490918.0
Republican Senators should think VERY seriously about whether Cipollone has been straight with them, or has instead… https://t.co/RQvUF7gAIx— Dr. emptywheel (@Dr. emptywheel) 1580491131.0
This puts Cipollone’s letter declaring Trump would not cooperate in a whole new light. He wasn’t just trying to cov… https://t.co/LR8kGopgp3— Matthew Miller (@Matthew Miller) 1580490615.0
Holy crap! Where is the #Senate? Per Bolton, Cipollone and Mulvaney were in the room in May when Trump directed Bol… https://t.co/pGNbxj3ZMi— Typical Trumpism (@Typical Trumpism) 1580491088.0
Wait, Bolton’s book says there was an earlier call — and Cipollone was in the room for it? The same Cipollone who’… https://t.co/sRgyDFuMXE— Kevin M. Kruse (@Kevin M. Kruse) 1580491724.0
The NYT story throws Cipollone in a hornet's nest of legal ethics issues.— David Jolly (@David Jolly) 1580490994.0
You knew that Bolton chapter was going to hit this morning.— Schooley (@Schooley) 1580490754.0
The best part about this is that much of the R defense of the president rests on Ds failure to obtain testimony of… https://t.co/FGOfiHo1Rx— Noah Rothman (@Noah Rothman) 1580490700.0
“I’m shocked that it implicates Cipollone,” said no one who watched the president’s lawyers lie to the American peo… https://t.co/StRMbqtNGU— Glenn Kirschner (@Glenn Kirschner) 1580491059.0
Just a hypothetical: can a lawyer be disbarred for representing a client in a matter in which the lawyer is himself implicated?— Christian Vanderbrouk (@Christian Vanderbrouk) 1580491496.0
So as a matter of professional legal ethics you can't really represent a client in a matter in which you are also a… https://t.co/aKNTrBVnug— Asha Rangappa (@Asha Rangappa) 1580491514.0
Cipollone is the White House Counsel-his client is the presidency, not the president. We pay his salary with our ta… https://t.co/kzwALFVLjt— Joyce Alene (@Joyce Alene) 1580434751.0
Recall as you read this story that Trump attorney Patrick Philbin, asked about Giuliani's actions, said on the Sena… https://t.co/iwPRQEsr3y— Jake Tapper (@Jake Tapper) 1580491468.0
Cipollone has argued to the Senate - no there there - but he was in the room when Trump was asking Bolton to help s… https://t.co/uihRoq5FXd— John P. Flannery (@John P. Flannery) 1580491151.0
