John Bolton Says Mike Pence Is A 'Consistent Ally' In His White House Memoir

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton called Vice President Mike Pence a “consistent ally” in his new book. Titled “The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir,” the book is a comprehensive account of Donald Trump’s administration that offers a precise rendering of Bolton’s days in and around the White House.

In the book, John Bolton said both he and Pence went up against Trump’s decision to sever ties and appease totalitarian leaders. He also revealed that he fought for Pence when Trump sought to appoint former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley to replace him on the 2020 ticket.

“As Vice President, Pence maintained the strong views on national security that he’d had during his years in the House of Representatives, and I regarded him as a consistent ally,” he wrote.

Bolton also supported Pence’s repudiation that Diplomat Gordon Sondland had mentioned to him his concern regarding the Ukraine aid before the Vice President met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in September 2019. It can be recalled that the delay in aid to Ukraine was the center of the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry last year, during which Pence denied knowing anything about the accusations against him.

Bolton claimed he was aware of Sondland’s efforts to get Ukraine to investigate the delays in aid. He also revealed that although Pence acknowledged he did not have a good answer to Zelensky as to why the assistance had not been released, he ducked as skillfully as possible when the reporters started asking him about it so he could cover up the U.S. administration’s failings. Days later, however, he compelled Trump to release the aid.

“Pence also pressed Trump to meet Zelensky at the U.N. General Assembly and said that ‘just between us girls,’ he thought Trump was looking for a news peg to make what we hoped was the right decision,” wrote Bolton.

“The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir” is set for release on Tuesday, June 23. Trump previously blocked the publication of the memoir but to no avail. In an interview last week, the U.S. president also described Bolton as a liar, saying everybody in the White House hated him.