Here we are. The House of Representatives impeachment managers have made their case. Donald John Trump’s legal team has made its case.

Now come the questions and answers, the back and forth in Trump’s Senate impeachment trial.

I just want to make this request as clearly as I can: Senators need to summon former national security adviser John Bolton to tell them what he heard on July 25 when the president made that infamous phone call to the president of Ukraine.

And no, there need not be a sideshow witness called to counter Bolton’s appearance. Bolton is a material fact witness. He has first-hand knowledge of what transpired during that phone call. Republicans are making noises about summoning Hunter Biden, the son of the former vice president, who went to work for a Ukraine energy company. Yeah, he got a lot of money. Prosecutors have said, however, that there was no “corruption” involved.

Hunter Biden profited from being the son of a prominent U.S. politician. So … what? Does the GOP defense of Trump actually want to play that card, given the nepotism that runs rampant throughout the West Wing of the White House?

Bolton needs to be heard. So does White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. If they are able to defend what Trump did, then let ’em do it! If they have something else to say, let ’em say that, too!