According to a report by MSN, several anonymous sources have reportedly told The New York Times that a book manuscript by President Trump’s former National Security Advisor John Bolton accuses Trump of holding up aid to Ukraine last year that was tied to investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter’s position with Ukraine oil company Burisma Holdings.

President Trump vehemently denied the claim by the New York Times’s anonymous sources on Twitter, adding that if Bolton did, indeed make the claim, it was only to sell his new book:

I NEVER told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens. In fact, he never complained about this at the time of his very public termination. If John Bolton said this, it was only to sell a book. With that being said, the transcripts of my calls with President Zelensky are all the proof that is needed, in addition to the fact that President Zelensky & the Foreign Minister of Ukraine said there was no pressure and no problems. Additionally, I met with President Zelensky at the United Nations (Democrats said I never met) and released the military aid to Ukraine without any conditions or investigations – and far ahead of schedule. I also allowed Ukraine to purchase Javelin anti-tank missiles. My Administration has done far more than the previous Administration.

President Trump added: The Democrat-controlled House never even asked John Bolton to testify. It is up to them, not up to the Senate!

Conservative Mark Levin blasted the NSC, saying they’re known for “notoriously leaking” alleged portions of the book on the eve of the impeachment.

According to The Gateway Pundit – The New York Times reported on descriptions of the manuscript Sunday evening, as the President’s defense team prepares for day two, on Monday, of their rebuttal to the Democrat House Managers’ case against Trump. Bolton was blocked by Trump from testifying in the House impeachment inquiry on national security grounds of executive privilege, however, Bolton has said he would testify in the Senate trial if he was issued a subpoena. Motions to allow witness testimony in the trial have been tabled until after the first stages of the trial are complete: Prosecution, defense and then questions from senators. The report by the Times is timed to influence the votes of Republicans to allow witnesses as the Democrats are all on record as being in favor.

President Trump retweeted The Gateway Pundit article that was tweeted by Fox News’ Lou Dobbs, who said:

Rejected Neocon, Failing NYTimes, Deep State’s Last Desperate Act After @POTUS Attorneys Destroy Radical Dems, Schiff and Pelosi Charges: NYTimes says Bolton Book Claims @realDonaldTrump Trump tied Ukraine Aid to Biden Probe.

The Times does not claim to have seen the manuscript but is basing its report on anonymous sources who claim to have given The Times descriptions. There are no quotes from the manuscript.

Excerpt:

President Trump told his national security adviser in August that he wanted to continue freezing $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine until officials there helped with investigations into Democrats including the Bidens, according to an unpublished manuscript by the former adviser, John R. Bolton.

The president’s statement as described by Mr. Bolton could undercut a key element of his impeachment defense: that the holdup in aid was separate from Mr. Trump’s requests that Ukraine announce investigations into his perceived enemies, including former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son Hunter Biden, who had worked for a Ukrainian energy firm while his father was in office.

Mr. Bolton’s explosive account of the matter at the center of Mr. Trump’s impeachment trial, the third in American history, was included in drafts of a manuscript he has circulated in recent weeks to close associates. He also sent a draft to the White House for a standard review process for some current and former administration officials who write books.

Multiple people described Mr. Bolton’s account of the Ukraine affair.

The book presents an outline of what Mr. Bolton might testify to if he is called as a witness in the Senate impeachment trial, the people said. The White House could use the pre-publication review process, which has no set time frame, to delay or even kill the book’s publication or omit key passages.

…Key to Mr. Bolton’s account about Ukraine is an exchange during a meeting in August with the president after Mr. Trump returned from vacation at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J. Mr. Bolton raised the $391 million in congressionally appropriated assistance to Ukraine for its war in the country’s east against Russian-backed separatists. Officials had frozen the aid, and a deadline was looming to begin sending it to Kyiv, Mr. Bolton noted.

He, Mr. Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper had collectively pressed the president about releasing the aid nearly a dozen times in the preceding weeks after lower-level officials who worked on Ukraine issues began complaining about the holdup, Mr. Bolton wrote. Mr. Trump had effectively rebuffed them, airing his longstanding grievances about Ukraine, which mixed legitimate efforts by some Ukrainians to back his Democratic 2016 opponent, Hillary Clinton, with unsupported accusations and outright conspiracy theories about the country, a key American ally.

…In his August 2019 discussion with Mr. Bolton, the president appeared focused on the theories Mr. Giuliani had shared with him, replying to Mr. Bolton’s question that he preferred sending no assistance to Ukraine until officials had turned over all materials they had about the Russia investigation that related Mr. Biden and supporters of Mrs. Clinton in Ukraine…

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