Thread by @ThePlumLineGS

It's hard to overstate how damaging this new John Bolton news is to just about every aspect of Trump's defenses.

Here's a thread on the key takeaways.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…

1) Trump's denial of Bolton's claim is steaming nonsense.

If Bolton were lying, as Trump claims, Trump would *want* Bolton to testify under oath, because his account is going to come out anyway, in his book.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…

2) The Bolton news demolishes a key Trump defense.

Trump's team keeps saying the only witnesses WHO TESTIFIED deny any link between aid and investigations.

Bolton has now confirmed he would testify otherwise -- which is EXACTLY WHY he's being blocked:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…

3) It's likely Trump's legal team got Bolton's manuscript in advance.

This means it's likely they knew exactly how Bolton would incriminate Trump -- and that this is exactly why they're blocking him from testifying.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…

4) As @mkraju reports, GOP Senators will say Trump's denials are enough of a reason not to hear from Bolton.

This amounts to arguing there's no need for witnesses for the sole reason that the truth is what Trump says it is. No one should sugarcoat this.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…

@mkraju 5) Revelations from Bolton about Pompeo and Barr make it essential that they explain themselves before Congress.

This again shows that this whole corrupt scheme -- and, crucially, the coverup -- involved large swaths of the government.

Those are my key points for now. FIN