The John Bolton bombshell—direct first-person evidence that, yeah, Donald Trump did it—is definitely roiling the Republican Senate. At least for the purposes of looking like they're taking this seriously and really considering having Bolton testify. First clue: Trump BFF Lindsey Graham conceded in a tweet Monday morning that maybe witnesses could be called, but that "at a minimum the Senate should allow President [Trump] to call all relevant witnesses he has requested." Adding to the idea from Graham that he's recognizing that this is kind of a big deal, he canceled a press conference with four other Trump loyalists, Wyoming's John Barrasso, Indiana's Mike Braun, Oklahoma's James Lankford, and Utah's Mike Lee. Barrasso and Braun, however, remain undaunted and are going to do their own presser anyway.
And right on cue, Utah's Mitt Romney steps up to say, "I think it's increasingly likely that other Republicans will join those of us [ed. note—there's an "us"?] who think we should hear from John Bolton, and whether there are other witnesses and documents, well that's another matter." Along with him, there’s Susan Collins, with a load of crap and her finger to the wind: "I've always said that I was likely to vote to call witnesses, just as I did in the 1999 Clinton trial," she says. "The reports about John Bolton's book strengthen the case for witnesses and have prompted a number of conversations among my colleagues." Yeah, I bet. Note that Collins isn't saying that she's going to demand a vote on witnesses that she will support, just that lots of people are talking about it.
Monday, Jan 27, 2020 · 4:23:27 PM +00:00
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Joan McCarter
“Ho hum,” say numerous other Republicans. Barrasso (WY) says “We learned nothing new, nothing new... What we’ve now seen is a selective leak from a book.” Thune (SD) says “I don’t think it changes the facts. ... I don’t personally see it as a game changer.” One question for them—if there’s nothing new and the facts haven’t changed, doesn’t that mean that they’ve known all along Trump did it?
The reality is that the White House doesn't want witnesses and Mitch McConnell doesn't want witnesses. Romney may have gone far enough into the breach now that he can't back down and will have to support Democratic efforts to get witnesses. So the real discussion among Collins' colleagues is probably about who gets to be the second senator to join him—Collins or Murkowski. Because there can only be one more. McConnell has to keep the number staying with him at 49 to prevent Chief Justice John Roberts from having to cast a tie-breaking vote.