President Trump's impeachment defenders may have known the John Bolton bombshell was coming.After Sunday's report indicating Bolton's forthcoming book would allege Trump blatantly suggested withholding aid from Ukraine, Democrats have only strengthened their calls for a Bolton impeachment testimony, and some Republicans have drifted to their side. A Bolton testimony would be "devastating to Trump" — and his lawyers' opening arguments show they expected it all along, George Conway argues in a Washington Post op-ed published Monday. Conway is the husband of Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway and, unlike his wife, is constantly criticizing Trump and calling for his impeachment. He's been watching the Senate impeachment trial, and observed in his Post op-ed that so far, the president's lawyers have yet to mention the former national security adviser. "There's no need to speculate why," Conway wrote: "The news about what's in Bolton's forthcoming book is out — and it shows that his testimony would be devastating to Trump."The fact that Trump's defenders didn't bring up Bolton is further proof of Trump's wrongdoing, Conway continues to argue. "At least some members of the president's defense team have known exactly what Bolton would say if called to the stand," Conway theorizes: That Trump wanted to halt security assistance to Ukraine until it promised to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden. "Quid. Pro. Quo," Conway succinctly sums it up.Read all of Conway's opinion at The Washington Post.More stories from theweek.com Fox & Friends' Brian Kilmeade says the Bolton fallout should teach Trump to 'better vet his staff.' Bolton used to work for Fox. GOP senators reportedly 'blindsided' by Bolton revelations Trump and Rudy Giuliani slam Bolton, question his manhood after book excerpt report

Rep. Adam Schiff and the rest of the House impeachment managers were meeting in the speaker's office in the US Capitol late Sunday afternoon when the bombshell news broke. The New York Times reported that a book manuscript John Bolton submitted to the White House for review alleged that President Donald Trump told his then-national security adviser that he wanted to continue holding military aid to Ukraine until the country helped with investigations into Democrats -- including former Vice President Joe Biden.

President Donald Trump's former national security adviser has upended the Senate impeachment trial, and new revelations from John Bolton's draft book manuscript could turn the tide on whether senators call for witnesses.

The morning after it was revealed that former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s forthcoming book claims Donald Trump tied military aid to Ukraine investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Trump’s favorite morning show Fox & Friends dutifully downplayed such claims, doing everything in its power to defend the president.As first reported Sunday by The New York Times, Bolton wrote that Trump told him in August that he wanted to keep the freeze on $391 million of congressionally approved military aid to Ukraine until the country’s officials agreed to investigate the Bidens. This contradicts a central element of Trump’s defense—that the holding up of the aid had nothing to do with the president’s partisan desire for Biden probes.With the president having already raged on Twitter overnight that he “NEVER told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens,” Fox & Friends’ curvy couch denizens and their guests went into full spin mode on Monday morning. Co-host Steve Doocy, who in September said it would be “off-the-rails wrong” if Trump said he’d give Ukraine money only if the country investigated Biden, sang a drastically different tune in light of the Bolton blockbuster. “But we heard him say in the transcript he wanted President Zelensky to look into the Bidens and what happened in 2016, so is this a big, big, big story?” Doocy wondered aloud.The timing of the Bolton manuscript leak—which came as the president’s counsel delivers its defense in the Senate impeachment trial—was also a major point of contention. After Doocy sarcastically said it’s “gotta be a coincidence” that this dropped before senators decide to allow additional witnesses, Fox News contributor Dan Bongino invoked a children’s toy from the ’80s to lash out at lead House impeachment manager Adam Schiff.“Everything is a coincidence,” the pro-Trump commentator exclaimed. “A whistleblower magically appears. A whistleblower, people from the NSC are working on Adam Schiff’s staff. What a coincidence. Adam Schiff is like the modern-day Teddy Ruxpin. You put a quarter in his back and he tells you a story. This is the next story. Now Bolton has the keys to the kingdom.”Co-host Brian Kilmeade, meanwhile, said the president’s big takeaway from this and the “Lev and Igor tapes” is that he “has to do a better job vetting his staff.” (Interestingly, before becoming Trump’s national security adviser, Bolton spent more than a decade as an on-air commentator for Fox News, often appearing on Kilmeade’s show.)Seth Meyers Exposes ‘Self-Serving Hypocrite’ Fox News Host Ainsley EarhardtLater on in the program, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham—who has yet to hold a press briefing—waved off the entire Bolton story, reiterating the president’s late-night Twitter defense before suggesting Bolton’s book is untrustworthy because it’s from “the same publisher that [James] Comey used.” (Simon & Schuster has also published several books by Trump himself.)With Bolton’s legal team indicating in a statement that they only provided the manuscript to the White House National Security Council for review of classified material, Fox & Friends also took aim at leakers within the Trump administration.“If John Bolton’s lawyers are telling the truth here and they just submitted it in and it’s leaked out, if that is indeed the case, more evidence that people within the administration are actually against the administration,” Kilmeade bemoaned. “And the other thing is, devastating timing because this thing was on the fast track to closing out without witnesses on Friday.”Fox News contributor Mike Huckabee, meanwhile, reiterated Kilmeade’s concern about those who are “disloyal” to Trump within his own administration. “That is dishonorable, it’s dishonest, it’s disgusting, and people like that shouldn’t be listened to,” he huffed.Kellyanne Conway Melts Down Under Grilling by Fox NewsRead more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

The chances of former National Security Adviser John Bolton testifying in the Senate impeachment trial are seemingly increasing.Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said Monday that, having spoken to other Republican lawmakers, it's "increasingly likely" more of them will vote to call Bolton to the witness stand now that revelations from his forthcoming book about Trump's alleged Ukraine quid pro quo were leaked to the public. Romney and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) have maintained they'd like to hear from Bolton throughout the process. Collins reiterated that sentiment Monday, saying the Bolton leaks strengthen her stance on the matter and that she's working with Romney and Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) to bring in witnesses.> My statement on Bolton developments. pic.twitter.com/3M59J7suts> > — Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) January 27, 2020Those four have long been considered the best bets to go against the grain in the trial, but it now looks like other party members are willing to discuss the matter.Don't expect everyone to jump ship, though. Axios reports that party leadership and the White House will continue to resist witnesses to prevent the "floodgates" from opening. One top aide told Axios that if Bolton's testimony were to implicate Trump, calls for acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo "will intensify." Read more at Axios.More stories from theweek.com Mike Pompeo is a disgrace LeBron James posts tribute to Kobe Bryant: 'I promise you I'll continue your legacy' GOP senators seemed enthralled with Dershowitz's Trump impeachment defense. Elizabeth Warren found it 'nonsensical.'

The president's lawyers ignored the firestorm around the former national security advisor's book.