Moscow – US President Donald Trump said on Monday that claims made by former US National Security Adviser John Bolton about how the release of military aid for Ukraine was made conditional on the latter’s investigation into the Democratic Party were a mere ploy to sell his book.
The New York Times newspaper reported on Sunday, citing Bolton’s unpublished book, that Trump told him in August about his intention to continue freezing $391 million worth of military aid for Kiev until Ukrainian officials helped with the investigation into the Democrats, including the corruption probe for 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
In addition, Bolton said that although he together with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper had repeatedly attempted to convince the president to release the aid, Trump rebuffed their proposals.
“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,” Trump wrote on Twitter.