Trump falsely claims House Democrats never asked Bolton to testify
Hello PolitiFact Daily readers,
I’m planning to get back to detailed coverage of the 2020 Democratic Primary, but first, I’d like to catch up on events going on in the Senate impeachment trial, as well as clear up misinformation about basketball legend Kobe Bryant’s tragic death over the weekend.
What we’ve fact-checked most recently is President Donald Trump’s tweet that falsely claimed House Democrats never sought former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s testimony as part of their impeachment inquiry.
"The Democrat controlled House never even asked John Bolton to testify," Trump said in a Jan. 27 tweet. "It is up to them, not up to the Senate!"
Reporter Bill McCarthy quickly jumped on research. It turned out to be rather simple.
The House did ask Bolton to testify on Nov. 7. Bolton, who left his post in September, declined to do so at the White House’s directive. The White House successfully blocked a number of officials from testifying or producing documents relevant to the House’s investigation.
Bolton signaled that he would testify only if he were subpoenaed and if a court ruled that he should obey the subpoena over the White House’s instructions.
Bolton’s lawyers said he would sign on to a lawsuit filed by his deputy, Charles Kupperman, who asked a court for guidance after he received a subpoena from the House and an order from the White House not to comply.
Many of the witnesses who did testify, such as Fiona Hill, the White House’s former top Russia expert, did so in defiance of the White House's orders.
Ultimately, House Democrats elected not to subpoena Bolton or take the issue up in court, saying it would create unnecessary delays. Instead, they withdrew their subpoena to Kupperman and documented Trump’s efforts to block cooperation in an article of impeachment alleging obstruction of Congress.
It doesn’t take away from the fact that the House did, in fact, ask Bolton to testify. We rated Trump’s tweet False.
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