In his August 2019 discussion with Mr. Bolton, the president appeared focused on the theories [Rudy] Giuliani had shared with him, replying to Mr. Bolton’s question that he preferred sending no assistance to Ukraine until officials had turned over all materials they had about the Russia investigation that related to Mr. Biden and supporters of Mrs. Clinton in Ukraine.

This account quite clearly undercuts one of the major elements of Trump’s impeachment defense, which is that the freeze on the aid had nothing to do with his desire to hurt his domestic rivals and everything to do with a not-at-all-believable wish to root out corruption in Ukraine. (The president’s allies have long tried to make this defense stick, adding that the holdup in delivering the aid is a moot point anyway because it was eventually released, and not mentioning that it was conveniently unfrozen just days after the White House learned of the whistle-blower complaint, or the minor matter of Trump being told the freeze was illegal and pushing for it anyway.)

The revelations in Bolton’s book have obviously come at a rather inopportune time for both the White House and Republicans, who are trying to wrap up this impeachment business by Friday. Unsurprisingly, Trump has responded to what is effectively a smoking gun with a series of angry tweets painting Bolton as a disgruntled ex-employee, doubling down on his allegedly perfect phone call, and sprinkling in some easily debunked lies to boot:

The book, of course, has put Republicans in the increasingly tough position of not only defending an obviously guilty man, but refusing to even allow witnesses to be heard. According to Times reporter Maggie Haberman, several Republicans have “angrily called the White House trying to determine who at the administration knew about Mr. Bolton’s manuscript, which aides there have had for several weeks, and what was in it.” Those lawmakers are said to feel “blindsided” by the account, in part because it makes them look really bad for sticking with Trump. (Per Haberman: “One reason for their ire is that Mr. Bolton’s account flies in the face of the rationale the president’s lawyers have offered the Senate for his actions, and which many Republicans have latched onto themselves as a defense of his conduct.”) Mitt Romney, one of the four senators Democrats are hoping to convince to vote with the other side, said Monday that it’s “increasingly likely” more Republicans will vote to hear testimony from Bolton.