The calls for John Bolton, President Trump's former National Security adviser, from the House managers, to be a witness at the Senate impeachment trial have been long and loud. The media, including Fox News, have also been aiding and abetting the Democrats in the pursuit. But Bolton is just a red herring meant to distract from the real issue at hand.

Democrats have no case

The real issue at hand is that the House Democrats have brought articles of impeachment to the Senate that contain no high crimes, misdemeanors, or bribery. They have witnesses that witnessed nothing. They want to convict and remove the president for having the wrong motives. This has been obvious all throughout the impeachment inquiry in the House and is still very apparent in the Senate trial. The Democrats have rhetoric and the mainstream media helping them, but in the end, the Democrats have no case. 

Enter the Red Herring

So, almost on cue, John Bolton's manuscript was leaked to the press on the first day of the president's defense in the impeachment trial. The manuscript is supposed to have evidence that President Trump asked the president of Ukraine to investigate the Bidens. (I thought we already knew that because President Trump released the transcript of the call?)

The Vindman brothers

Who leaked the details in the manuscript? No one knows conclusively, but Yevgeny Vindman, the identical twin brother of Alexander Vindman, an NSAC ethics lawyer, had access to the manuscript to review it for classified materials.

You will remember that Alexander Vindman bypassed his immediate superior, Tim Morrison, to report the president's July 25th call to his brother, an unknown person (probably the whistleblower), and Secretary George Kent. His testimony in the House Intelligence Committee's impeachment hearings revealed his inflated opinion of himself and his disdain for President Trump's Ukraine policy.

He came across as a tattletale, but his tales were not told to the person in authority, but about the person in authority; as if he said, "Teacher, teacher, the president broke the rules!" forgetting that the president makes the rules when it comes to foreign policy.

Why are they still anywhere near the president?

NSC manuscript review process and leaks

Bolton’s manuscript was submitted to the National Security Council’s records management division on Dec. 30. Manuscripts written by former members of the NSA need to be reviewed for sensitive information that could jeopardize our national security. Leaking material from such manuscripts is just reckless.

John Bolton's attorney, Charles J. Cooper,  said, “It is clear, regrettably, from The New York Times article published today that the prepublication review process has been corrupted and that information has been disclosed by persons other than those properly involved in reviewing the manuscript."

The smoking gun

Amid all the speculation that Bolton's testimony would be the smoking gun the Democrats need to convict and remove the president, a recent interview of John Bolton surfaced. Bolton was interviewed by Radio Free Europe in August 2019 and in it he described the president's call to President Zelensky of Ukraine.

Bolton described the calls to Zelenskiy warm and cordial and that the US considered the welfare of the Ukraine a priority. Policy toward Ukraine was discussed in the interview, and Bolton's description of the president's calls was completely positive. Bolton even emphasized the president's policies toward Russia were very tough, contrary to public perception.

President Trump declares Game Over!

GAME OVER! pic.twitter.com/yvMa6bPqfy

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2020