The chairman of the House committee that originates impeachment articles said on Sunday that it would be a waste of time to try again to impeach President Trump because Senate Republicans were too “corrupt” to consider statements made in a new book by John R. Bolton, the president’s former national security adviser. “The Senate Republicans were not interested in any evidence,” said Representative Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat who is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, in an interview on the CNN program “State of the Union.” “They were corrupt in that respect.”Mr. Bolton suggested in his book that Congress should have investigated Mr. Trump for his use of trade negotiations and attempted interference in criminal inquiries to further his political interests, far beyond the one episode in which he sought to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals. The book’s revelations were met with frustration from Capitol Hill Democrats, who were angry that the former national security adviser waited until the release of his book — for which he was reportedly paid $2 million — to accuse Mr. Trump of misdeeds that went far beyond those for which he was impeached. At the same time, Republicans pushed back against the book’s claims as either false or motivated by money.

Source: New York Times June 21, 2020 17:03 UTC