The White House and Trump never bothered to tell the president’s impeachment lawyers that John Bolton’s book was bad for Trump.
President Trump’s attorney Patrick Philbin said no one had notified him or the White House legal team on whether the forthcoming book from former national security adviser John Bolton would cause problems for Trump.
“No, no one from inside of the White House or outside of the White House told us that the publication of the book would be problematic for the President. I think that we assumed that Mr. Bolton was disgruntled and we did not expect that he was going to be saying a lot of nice things about the President, but nobody told us anything like that,” Philbin said.
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Trump didn’t tell his lawyers that bad news was coming and they should prepare a proper defense to address it at his impeachment trial. The White House has had a copy of the book for months, but nobody cared enough apparently to read it and understand that it contained big problems for Donald Trump.
Trump’s defense has been a mess from day one. They don’t dispute the facts with counterevidence. There is no theory to justify Trump’s actions, outside of a false belief that Article II gives the president unlimited power. Their argument was so weak that the president’s defense team didn’t use their full 24 hours to make their case.
Donald Trump has a history of ignoring, not paying, and lying to his lawyers. He didn’t provide his counsel with important information, which is why his defense has been a trainwreck.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
