In a move no one saw coming (insert sarcasm here) the New York Times has "suddenly" discovered an excerpt from John Bolton's soon-to-be-released book, handed to them by – you guessed it – an anonymous source.

The former national security advisor to President Trump has been a major subject of conversation in the impeachment trial. Democrats who have been saying that their case is "overwhelming" and "airtight" against the president seem to feel a contradicting need to force Bolton to the Senate trial.

In the New York Times piece, Ambassador Bolton is said to have written that the National Defense Authorization Act, granting Ukraine military and other aid, was tied to inquiries by Ukraine into the Bidens and Burisma.

While this may or may not be true, it has re-energized the Democrats' call for hearing Bolton as a witness, sworn-in and under oath in the trial. Mainstream media such as the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, ABC News, MSNBC, NBC and others were all doing the Democrats' bidding, pushing the narrative that it would be nearly impossible for the Republican majority to brush aside the idea of hearing witnesses.

A word of caution to Democrats, though: this unpublished manuscript may not turn out to be as condemning as the anonymous source reported, if such a person exists that has actually read Bolton's manuscript.

The other risk of forcing Bolton to the stand will be that the Republicans are then likely to subpoena, as witnesses, Hunter Biden, the "whistleblower," House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and others.

Ken Pittman is the host of The Ken Pittman Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon. Contact him at ken.pittman@townsquaremedia.com. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

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