Thread by @ThePlumLineGS

This breaks it open. Trump told Bolton that frozen military aid to Ukraine was directly linked to his demand for the political investigations he wanted, NYT reports.

This is what GOP Senators *don't* want to hear from witness testimony:

nytimes.com/2020/01/26/us/…

Crucial detail from the new NYT scoop: Bolton, Pompeo and Esper pressed Trump almost *a dozen times* to release the aid!

@SecPompeo's sliming of reporters might ingratiate him with the Audience of One, but he simply must come before Congress now.

nytimes.com/2020/01/26/us/…

@SecPompeo Here's the golden nugget in the NYT scoop: Bolton says that in their conversation, Trump wanted to withhold the aid until Ukraine turned over materials related to the investigation into Biden and the one designed to absolve Russia of its 2016 attack:

nytimes.com/2020/01/26/us/…

@SecPompeo Remember: Sondland *actually did* deliver the extortion demand to Ukraine.

The spin has been that Sondland "presumed" Trump wanted this.

That was always BS. But now GOP Senators have to continue parroting this nonsense while explaining why they don't want to hear from Bolton.

@SecPompeo Here's @SpeakerPelosi's statement. Note the call for new *documents* as well. If there is an initial vote to hear new evidence, that opens the door for numerous votes on each individual witness *and* on documents. That's potentially even more important.

https://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi/status/1221587345092292609

@SecPompeo @SpeakerPelosi One last key point.

Senate GOP's last remaining excuse not to call Bolton will be that Trump will exert executive privilege, sending this into court.

But that line is utter nonsense. Here's an explainer, relying on legal experts and a recent CRS report:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…