Senate

Graham says he wants to see Bolton manuscript

by Jordain Carney - 01/27/20 8:42 PM ET

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Monday he wants to see former national security adviser John Bolton’s forthcoming memoir and indicated the White House should hand it over.

The New York Times reported on Sunday that Bolton, in his yet-to-be-released book, will claim that Trump tied aid to Ukraine to the country helping with investigations into Democrats, including former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.

Graham on Monday said that Senate should “evaluate” the manuscript.

“I think what we have to do here is evaluate the manuscript. … I want to know what’s in the manuscript,” Graham said.

Graham waffled between questions on how senators would get a copy of Bolton’s book, which was handed over to the White House National Security Council as part of a standard pre-publication review.

Some Democrats have floated trying to subpoena Bolton’s manuscript. Graham hedged when asked if he would back a subpoena but argued that it shouldn’t be “hard” for senators to get a copy.

“Apparently the White House has it. You can ask for it,” he added.

The report on Bolton’s book has injected new life into the debate within the Senate Republican caucus over calling witnesses.

Democrats need four Republicans to vote with them to successfully open the door to witnesses. After that, both sides would be expected to make motions for specific individuals, and the Senate would vote on them.

Asked if the report changed his calculations, Graham responded, “I don’t know yet.”

“The White House said there was no direct evidence of communication. Maybe this suggests that one person said there might be. What I’ve said all along is if you’re going to add to the record, we’re going to do it in a balanced way,” he said.

“If we add to the record, we’re going to call Hunter Biden, Joe Biden and all these other people,” he added.

Tags Joe Biden John Bolton Lindsey Graham