Former NSC adviser John Bolton has released a statement saying he will testify if he is subpoenaed by the Senate. The MSM is reading a lot into this that isn’t there.

Axios has tried to analyze it and views him as a wild card. I don’t see it. They say his prolific note-taking could include evidence. They believe he wants to testify because he must have something to say. All of that is conjecture. It could be true or not.

It does mean that he is suggesting they should have witnesses which Mitch McConnell already said was a no-go.

THE BOLTON STATEMENT

During the present impeachment controversy, I have tried to meet my obligations both as a citizen and as former National Security Advisor. My colleague, Dr. Charles Kupperman, faced with a House committee subpoena on the one hand, and a Presidential directive not to testify on the other, sought final resolution of this Constitutional conflict from the Federal judiciary. After my counsel informed the House committee that I too would seek judicial resolution of these Constitutional issues, the committee chose not to subpoena me. Nevertheless, I publicly resolved to be guided by the outcome of Dr. Kupperman’s case.

But both the President and the House of Representatives opposed his effort on jurisdictional grounds, and each other on the merits. The House committee went so far as to withdraw its subpoena to Dr. Kupperman in a deliberate attempt to moot the case and deprive the court of jurisdiction. Judge Richard Leon, in a carefully reasoned opinion on December 30, held Dr. Kupperman’s case to be moot, and therefore did not reach the separation-of-powers issues.

The House has concluded its Constitutional responsibility by adopting Articles of Impeachment related to the Ukraine matter. It now falls to the Senate to fulfill its Constitutional obligation to try impeachments, and it does not appear possible that a final judicial resolution of the still-unanswered Constitutional questions can be obtained before the Senate acts.

Accordingly, since my testimony is once again at issue, I have had to resolve the serious competing issues as best I could, based on careful consideration and study. I have concluded that, if the Senate issues a subpoena for my testimony, I am prepared to testify.

Bolton issued this statement after expressing his glee on Twitter over the President’s termination of Soleimani and the second in command.

Congratulations to all involved in eliminating Qassem Soleimani. Long in the making, this was a decisive blow against Iran’s malign Quds Force activities worldwide. Hope this is the first step to regime change in Tehran. — John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) January 3, 2020

Another good day. Iran rips the mask off the idea it ever fully complied with the nuclear deal, or that it made a strategic decision to forswear nuclear weapons. Now, it’s on to the real job: effectively preventing the ayatollahs from getting such a capability. — John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) January 5, 2020

If anything, we believe he would clear the President. He is very opposed to the socialist/communist Democrats. We are not worried. Democrats can dream on that he will sink the GOP ship.

The President already addressed John Bolton testifying and he doesn’t sound worried:

…lawyer has already stated that I did nothing wrong. John Bolton is a patriot and may know that I held back the money from Ukraine because it is considered a corrupt country, & I wanted to know why nearby European countries weren’t putting up money also. Likewise, I would…. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 26, 2019

…lawyer has already stated that I did nothing wrong. John Bolton is a patriot and may know that I held back the money from Ukraine because it is considered a corrupt country, & I wanted to know why nearby European countries weren’t putting up money also. Likewise, I would…. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 26, 2019