House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House will make a “judgment” on whether to subpoena former national security adviser John Bolton, as excerpts from his forthcoming memoir surfaced revealing previously unreported claims about President Trump and members of his administration.
Fox News has obtained a copy of Bolton's upcoming 592-page memoir, "The Room Where it Happened." In it, Bolton argued the House committed "impeachment malpractice” by keeping their prosecution focused narrowly on Ukraine while claiming Trump’s alleged misconduct went far beyond that controversy and through the full range of his foreign policy.
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“He was so arrogant,” Pelosi, D-Calif., said of Bolton during her press conference Thursday. “We did impeach the president of the United States.”
According to an excerpt from his memoir, Bolton wrote that had the Senate majority agreed to call witnesses and had he testified in the impeachment trial, "I am convinced, given the environment then existing because of the House's impeachment malpractice, that it would have made no significant difference in the Senate outcome."
“I am very proud of what we did,” Pelosi said, referring to impeaching Trump. “Somebody who is trying to keep the con going by criticizing us when he wouldn’t come in. He said he would go to the Senate when we said that we could not subpoena him.”
She added: “He does want to keep his ties with the right wing.”
Pelosi went on to slam Bolton, saying he “chose money over patriotism,” and noted that she did not read the book and did not “want to give money to the book.”
When asked whether the House would subpoena Bolton to appear for testimony, Pelosi said the House would be “discussing” the matter.
“We will make a judgment,” she said.
BOLTON MEMOIR DISCUSSES POSSIBILITY OF REPLACING PENCE, 'COOL' VENEZUELA INVASION, AND MORE
At the center of the impeachment inquiry, which began in September, was Trump’s July 25 phone call with Kiev. That call prompted a whistleblower complaint to the intelligence community inspector general, and in turn, an impeachment inquiry in the House. Trump challenged the accuracy of the complaint, though the transcript released by the White House did support the core allegations that he pressed for politically related investigations concerning the Bidens.
The president’s request came after millions in U.S. military aid to Ukraine had been frozen, which Democrats and witnesses have claimed shows a "quid pro quo" arrangement. Trump denies any wrongdoing. The aid was eventually delivered.
Trump was acquitted by the Senate in February.
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Meanwhile, the Justice Department is seeking an emergency injunction preventing the release of Bolton's book, saying he deliberately bypassed the necessary classification review process and that his manuscript still contains classified information.
The president slammed the memoir as “pure fiction” on Thursday and said his former national security adviser is “trying to get even” after he fired him from his post last year.
“Bolton’s book, which is getting terrible reviews, is a compilation of lies and made up stories, all intended to make me look bad,” Trump tweeted. “Many of the ridiculous statements he attributes to me were never made, pure fiction.”
He added: “Just trying to get even for firing him like the sick puppy he is!”
Bolton served as national security adviser from April 2018 to September 2019 and was United States ambassador to the United Nations in the George W. Bush administration.
Fox News' Chad Pergram, Gregg Re and John Roberts contributed to this report.