I NEVER discussed military aid to Ukraine with Donald Trump claims his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani as he labels John Bolton a ‘backstabber’ and ‘swamp creature’ and says he’s ready to testify to the Senate if called
- Dr. Fiona Hill says Bolton called Giuliani a ‘hand grenade’ and compared his Ukraine plans to a ‘drug deal’
- Giuliani said Bolton was an ‘atomic bomb’
- He said Bolton never brought concerns to him directly
- But Bolton did tell staff to take concerns to White House lawyers, witnesses said
- President Trump trashed Bolton on Twitter
- Senate Republicans are weighing whether to call him as an impeachment witness
Rudy Giuliani tore into former national security advisor John Bolton as a ‘swamp creature’ as Senate Republicans strategized over whether to call in a witness the former New York mayor characterized as an ‘atomic bomb.’
Giuliani tore into Bolton, whom he termed a ‘backstabber’ for never bringing concerns about his operations in Ukraine to him directly. Instead, Bolton raised alarms to multiple national security officials, they testified – and instructed them to contact White House lawyers about conduct they considered improper.
‘He never said to me, ‘I’ve got a problem with what you are doing in Ukraine.’ Never once, never winked, never sent me a little note,’ Giuliani told CBS News.
Donald Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani tore into former national security advisor John Bolton as a ‘swamp creature’ and a ‘back stabber’
‘That’s classic backstabber. So I feel I got a swamp character here. I find his testimony about the president pretty close to incredible.’
Giuliani also upped the ante on testimony that Bolton warned he was a ‘hand-grenade’ with his operations in Ukraine – comments that anticipated the House voting out an abuse of power impeachment article against the president.
‘If he came up to me and said, ‘Rudy, you’re a grenade that’ll blow up,’ and he shows his face, I would say, ‘I would never have the opportunity, ’cause you’re an atomic bomb.”
Bolton’s new manuscript says Trump told him he was holding up Ukraine aid to get investigations of the Bidens
President Trump ridiculed Bolton, whom he brought on to be his top national security advisor
Giuliani’s comments echoed an attack by the president, who fumed on Twitter Wednesday: ‘Why didn’t John Bolton complain about this “nonsense” a long time ago, when he was very publicly terminated. He said, not that it matters, NOTHING!’ Trump wrote.
Trump also dismissed the man he named as his top security advisor as having ‘begged’ him for a job and nearly causing a string of world wars.
‘For a guy who couldn’t get approved for the Ambassador to the U.N. years ago, couldn’t get approved for anything since, “begged” me for a non Senate approved job, which I gave him despite many saying “Don’t do it, sir,” takes the job, mistakenly says “Libyan Model” on T.V., and..many more mistakes of judgement, gets fired because frankly, if I listened to him, we would be in World War Six by now, and goes out and IMMEDIATELY writes a nasty & untrue book,’ Trump wrote on Twitter.
‘All Classified National Security. Who would do this?’
The joint attacks come as GOP senators continued to meet to determine whether to call Bolton as a witness, following bombshell revelations in his book manuscript that Trump told him he was withholding millions in congressionally-appropriated security assistance to Ukraine to force an investigation of the Bidens.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told colleagues Tuesday he does not have the votes as of yet to prevent witnesses at the Trump impeachment trial.