The shift in the White House’s impeachment strategy comes after news emerged Sunday evening that a book by Bolton alleges that the president directly tied the holdup of nearly $400 million in military aid for Ukraine to investigations into former vice president Joe Biden — a potential 2020 rival — and his son Hunter Biden.
Among White House aides and Capitol Hill Republicans, there was a growing brew of anxiety, unease and frustration, as well as the sense that the allegations contained in Bolton’s book, which is due in March, could push the Senate impeachment trial into next week, yielding more damaging disclosures for Trump as he heads into this year’s reelection contest.
Though the White House continued to push aggressively Monday against witness testimony — especially from Bolton — some aides are now convinced that they will lose that battle.
White House counsel Pat Cipollone has privately insisted to senators and allies that the White House did not know Bolton was going to make such an accusation in the book. The manuscript was submitted to the National Security Council in late December as part of a routine pre-publication review process.
