Recent reports suggest that former National Security Adviser John Bolton may be called to give evidence in the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.
According to The New York Times, officials expect that the Trump administration will do everything they can to block Bolton from testifying.
"According to the testimony given to Congress so far, Bolton was a central figure in trying to prevent any delay in releasing foreign aid to Ukraine," said former George W. Bush DOJ official John Yoo. "I cannot see how any responsible investigation would not seek Bolton’s appearance."
On the other hand, he added, "If the White House were to fight the House impeachment on executive privilege grounds, Bolton would be the hill on which to die. The Trump White House could claim not just that the impeachment investigation is illegitimate, which is its current line of defense, but that it is defending the right of future presidents to have an effective White House and to conduct a successful foreign policy."
Additionally, some Democrats wonder whether that fight with the White House would even be worth it. “You just can’t work from assumptions,” said House Intelligence Committee member Mike Quigley (D-IL). “I don’t know what he had. I don’t know if he has value. I don’t know if he is willing to talk about it.”
But there is good reason to suppose Bolton, who had a tumultuous tenure as National Security Adviser and left amid foreign policy disagreements, could damage Trump. He was allegedly privy to at least some of the machinations of Rudy Giuliani to strong-arm Ukraine into investigating former Vice President Joe Biden, and was highly critical of this idea, blasting Giuliani as a "hand grenade" and comparing him to a drug dealer.