On impeachment, a head-in-the-sand caucus takes shape

When former White House National Security Adviser John Bolton announced yesterday that he’s willing to testify during Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, it quickly jolted the political debate. Indeed, it created a challenge Senate Republicans would have preferred to avoid:
how would they justify excluding voluntary testimony from an important witness with first-hand information about the president’s culpability?

The responses from GOP senators were predictably varied yesterday, with some so-called “moderates” expressing interest in hearing from Bolton, though they tended to endorse Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) plan of starting the impeachment trial first, and then making a decision on witnesses later.

But one senator stood out by making a spirited argument in defense of ignoring relevant information.

Sen. Marco Rubio, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN he would not vote for a subpoena of former White House national security adviser John Bolton because he said that it was the House of Representative’s job to get his testimony.