Trump Impeachment Monday Livestream: Bolton Book Casts Shadow

WASHINGTON, DC — President Donald Trump’s lawyers, dealt a curveball with an explosive forthcoming book by former national security adviser John Bolton that undercuts the president’s defense, are expected to argue Trump was legally justified in withholding millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine as the impeachment trial continues Monday.

The trial is expected to resume at 1 p.m. Eastern Time. The House approved two articles of impeachment, one for abuse of power and the other for obstruction of Congress. Bolton’s accusations in the forthcoming book go to the heart of the abuse of power charge.

The president’s lawyers are expected to offer more details on the broad case they outlined Saturday, and may raise questions about the conduct of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, targeted by Trump in his request that Ukraine investigate his political rivals.

Trump’s legal team has repeatedly said that Trump never tied the release of the congressionally approved military aid on an investigation into the Bidens. In arguments Saturday, the lawyers said he did “absolutely nothing wrong,” insisting instead that Democrats are trying to remove him from the 2020 presidential election ballot.

Related: Democrats Demand Bolton Testify At Trump’s Impeachment Trial

Bolton’s account in “The Room Where It Happened; A White House Memoir,” first reported by The New York Times and confirmed by The Associated Press, added new fuel to Democrats’ insistence that new witnesses be called in the Republican-led Senate trial.

Trump said in a tweet Sunday: "I NEVER told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens. In fact, he never complained about this at the time of his very public termination. If John Bolton said this, it was only to sell a book."

The Senate is expected to vote later this week on whether to call additional witnesses, and Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney said Monday Bolton “has relevant testimony” and that it is “increasingly apparent it is important to hear from him.”

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins said Monday that reports of Bolton’s book “strengthen the case for witnesses.”

Watch the impeachment trial on PBS.