Donald Trump Claims He Wants Witnesses At His Impeachment Trial But It Would Be A ‘National Security Problem’
Democrats and Republicans have been battling over whether or not there should be witnesses at Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. On Wednesday, the president weighed in on the debate, saying that he would like to have impeachment witnesses but couldn’t allow it because it would be a “national security problem.”
According to Mediaite, Trump spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday morning when he addressed the topic of his impeachment trial in the Senate, which kicked off in earnest this week.
John Bolton, in particular, has been floated as a witness after he said that he would testify if subpoenaed.
“I would rather interview a lot of people. The problem with John is that it’s a national security problem. You can’t have somebody whose [sic] in national security, and if you think about it… John, he knows some of my thoughts,” Trump said.
He went on to argue that Bolton knows what he thinks about other world leaders and could reveal that information, which could put him in a difficult position.
“He knows what I think about leaders,” Trump said. “What happens if he reveals what I think about a certain leader and it’s not very positive and then I have to deal on behalf of the country? It’s going to be very hard.”
Trump continued on, saying that he wasn’t sure if Bolton should testify because they may not be on the best terms. Further, since Bolton knows about Trump’s thoughts on trade deals, “war and peace,” and foreign governments, it would be too much of a security concern.
When it comes to other witnesses like Mick Mulvaney, Trump claimed that he would love to see the acting White House Chief of Staff testify, but again, it would be a national security concern, as would Rick Perry’s testimony.
Trump concluded that he had been battling against “this hoax” from the day that he came down the escalator in Trump Tower to announce that he was running and wanted to get back to the business of running the country. He said that he’d rather extend the impeachment and have witnesses, but there just wasn’t time.
“Personally, I would rather go the long route. It’s horrible for our country. Our country has to get back to business,” he said.
A recent poll shows that voters disagree with the president and Republicans on whether or not to let witnesses speak at the trial. As The Inquisitr previously reported, 71 percent of people polled say that Republicans should call witnesses in the trial.
