Pelosi has 'no plans right now' for fight over Bolton testimony
WASHINGTON _ Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that the House has "no plans right now" to engage in a court fight for former national security adviser John Bolton's testimony.
Since Bolton had said he would testify in the Senate trial if subpoenaed, it was thought he would respond to a subpoena from the House Intelligence Committee.
Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff said on MSNBC Wednesday night that "there's been absolutely no decision made" on whether to subpoena Bolton but indicated Bolton would still be hostile toward such an effort.
"I can tell you that after the Senate voted not to hear witnesses ... we did approach John Bolton's counsel, asked if Mr. Bolton would be willing to submit an affidavit under oath describing what he observed in terms of the president's Ukraine misconduct _ and he refused," Schiff said.
"For whatever reason he apparently was willing to testify before the Senate but apart from that seems intent on saving it for his book," he added.
Schiff's comments on Bolton reveal why Pelosi, when asked during her weekly news conference Thursday whether the House would subpoena Bolton, framed the matter as a potential court case.
"We have some cases in court now, (former White House counsel Don) McGahn and taxes and that. That will take some time," she said. "We didn't need that to come to a fruition because we had a strong enough case to impeach and remove. But those cases still exist. If there are others that we see as an opportunity, we'll make a judgment at that time. But we have no plans right now."
_CQ-Roll Call
