Bolton key ‘witness' in impeachment inquiry against Trump - US Rep. Schiff

A top US House lawmaker wants former National security adviser John Bolton to testify in an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.

Speaking on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said Bolton is a “very important” witness in the House’s ongoing impeachment inquiry effort.

Bolton has emerged from closed-door testimonies given by other administration and government officials as a key witness, Schiff noted.

“Obviously he has very relevant information and we do want him to come in and testify,” Schiff said.

Schiff, a Democrat, said that the White House would probably place obstacles to getting Bolton in front of the committee.

“My guess is, they're going to fight us having John Bolton in,” Schiff said.

So far, closed-door interviews have been scheduled with Charles Kupperman, a Bolton deputy, and Tim Morrison, National Security Council's senior director for Russia and Europe.

Kupperman and Morrison, who both have left the White House, are scheduled to have their interviews on Monday and Thursday respectively.

House Democrats, spearheaded by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, launched last month the impeachment inquiry of Trump after a whistleblower’s disclosure of the president’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in which Trump allegedly sought Ukraine’s help to smear former vice president Joe Biden.

Trump reportedly urged Zelensky about eight times during the phone call to work with his lawyer Rudy Giuliani to investigate government corruption involving Biden and his son, Hunter.

The US president dismissed the Ukraine allegations as another witch-hunt attempting to smear his already tarnished reputation and damage his popularity as the Americans get closer to the 2020 presidential election.

He has compared his impeachment to being killed by a lynching mob without a proper trial.

"So some day, if a Democrat becomes President and the Republicans win the House, even by a tiny margin, they can impeach the President, without due process or fairness or any legal rights," Trump wrote in a tweet. "All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here - a lynching. But we will WIN!"