Donald Trump has two major problems: He's guilty of extorting Ukrainian leadership, and nearly all of his closest advisers who are central to Trump's Ukraine scandal are highly unlikely to take a bullet for him. Sure, they're loyalists—up to a point. But all of them had reputations that preceded Trump, and far more governmental experience than he does. Some have ambitions beyond Trump, and most of them believe they're the smartest ones in the room.
Take Attorney General William Barr, for example, who has absolutely run interference for Trump on things like the Mueller report release and the now-pending investigations into the origins of the Mueller probe. Barr has an "executive power" agenda and he's an outright conspiracy theorist, but he also knows the law and the inner workings of the Justice Department and any time he has somehow been implicated in Rudy Giuliani's scheme to extort Ukraine, he has quickly tried to distance himself and his department. After the July 25 call transcript came out, Barr immediately expressed his "surprise" at being tied to Giuliani's efforts. The Justice Department also took immediate exception to White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney's suggestion that military aid for Ukraine was being held up in part due to Ukraine's willingness to cooperate with an ongoing department inquiry.
To date, the Justice Department has only explored one potential criminal violation related to Trump's actions on the Ukraine call: campaign finance. The legal rationale advanced in support of not further pursuing that criminal inquiry was entirely suspect, but there's clearly a reason Barr's Justice Department didn't also explore bribery, extortion, or other potential crimes. Barr will definitely skirt the edges for Trump, but involving himself in Trump's criminality is where he will draw the line. None of this is to say that Barr's hands aren't dirty or that he isn't willing to go to bat for Trump. But when it comes down to getting ensnared in Trump's illegal dealings, Barr isn't going to willingly allow Trump's stupidity to bring him down. Thus, his reported refusal to hold a press conference claiming Trump did nothing illegal on the call.
The same is true, and perhaps even more so, for former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, who reportedly said he wasn't going to be party to any sort of "drug deal" regarding U.S. foreign policy with Ukraine, called Giuliani a "hand grenade," and instructed his deputy Fiona Hill to take concerns about extortion of Ukraine to White House lawyers. It's not that Bolton is a hero, it's that he ain't going down for Trump—someone he surely looks down upon. In fact, Bolton seems willing enough to tell his story as long as has a legal fig leaf from the courts to do so. After all, Bolton needs to work in conservative circles moving forward, and can't be viewed as having eagerly stabbed Trump in the back.
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