John Bolton, a former US national security adviser, has expressed the willingness to testify against President Donald Trump if the senate issues a subpoena for his testimony.
Trump was impeached by the US house of representatives on December 19.
The lower chamber of the congress found him guilty of abuse of office in the Ukrainian affair in which he was accused of seeking foreign interference in US politics.
A second vote on “obstruction of congress” followed a similar partisan pattern, with 229 Democrats voting “yea” to the charge and 198 Republicans saying “nay”.
Despite the impeachment, Trump has remained in office in accordance with the US constitution and he will continue to occupy the presidential seat except he is found guilty by the senate.
But the trial has been stalled over Democrats’ insistence on hearing from critical witnesses which Trump had barred from testifying against him.
In a statement on Monday, Bolton said he is ready to testify against Trump if the senate issues an order for him to appear and provide evidence.
“I have concluded that, if the Senate issues a subpoena for my testimony, I am prepared to testify,” he wrote.
Bolton, who is reputed for his foreign policy views, left the White House in September amid disagreements with Trump.
According to the statement which was published on his website, the former security adviser said the senate needs to fulfil its role of trying impeachments.
He said he had studied the situation clearly and resolved to be guided by the outcome of the case of Charles Kupperman, his colleague, who was in a dilemma between a house committee subpoena and a presidential directive barring him from testifying.
“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,” he wrote.
“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.”
If Trump remains in office after the senate trial, he will be joining a rare group of two other American presidents — Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton — who were impeached but saved the hammer by the senate. (NAN)
