WASHINGTON (NYTIMES) - Democrats and Republicans in Congress may be deeply divided over law enforcement reform, what to do about the coronavirus pandemic and even whether to purge vestiges of the Confederacy from the Capitol. But Thursday (June 18), they found consensus on one thing.Everyone, it seemed, was mad at Mr John Bolton.

Democrats were angry that the former national security adviser waited until now - for the release of a book for which he was reportedly paid US$2 million (S$2.79 million) - to reveal that President Donald Trump's misdeeds went far beyond those for which he was impeached, information that would surely have been more useful when they were building their case against the president for high crimes and misdemeanours.

Republicans were mad that Mr Bolton, whose book "The Room Where It Happened" described Mr Trump's presidency as a series of actions that amounted to "obstruction of justice as a way of life," was daring to malign the president.

On Capitol Hill, the release of the book appeared only to harden long-calcified views of the president and his conduct. They also reflected a certain institutional hostility to being told how to do their jobs.

Mr Bolton suggested in his book that Congress should have investigated Mr Trump for his use of trade negotiations and criminal inquiries to further his political interests far beyond the one episode in which he asked the president of Ukraine to investigate his political rivals.

"I don't want to pay money for a book that was a substitute for testifying before Congress about the well-being of the American people," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. As for impeachment, she said, "I have no regrets - no, I'm very proud of what we did."

To Republicans, Mr Bolton's turn against the president meant it was time to turn on Mr Bolton.

"Money drives a lot of people to say a lot of things," said Representative Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader. "We've watched people before make lies about the president." Mr Bolton's book, he later added on Twitter, "could jeopardise our national security. Appalling."

In the book, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, Mr Bolton described how Mr Trump linked tariff talks with China to his own political fortunes by asking President Xi Jinping to buy US agricultural products to help him win farm states in this year's election.

"He sold out the national interest for his personal political interest," Senator Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, said on the Senate floor. "Sound familiar, my Senate Republican colleagues? Sound familiar?"

Mr Schumer called episodes of MrTrump's behaviour, as described in the book, "craven" and "revolting." Nevertheless, he said, "I would have preferred Mr Bolton to tell these stories under oath at the impeachment trial."

Still, at least some lawmakers who agonised over whether to allow Mr Bolton and others to be subpoenaed as part of the impeachment trial - and ultimately decided to block the move - said they were not sorry.

"I made the decision that I made at the time that I made it," said Senator Lisa Murkowski. "And, you know, there's no going back. I don't regret that decision."

Mr Bolton's book has already become a No. 1 bestseller on Amazon.com, powered in part by the president's fuming on Twitter about his claims. The Justice Department is seeking to stop its publication.

"He is a guy that obviously is jilted from being in that office," Senator Mike Braun told reporters of Mr Bolton. "And I don't think it merits comment in the context of what we're trying to do with police reform and other issues."

Senator John Cornyn said, "I don't really have any comments about it because I haven't read it. I know he's trying to sell a book."

Mr Bolton's book contains some unflattering information about Mr Trump's lack of knowledge about basic facts of world affairs and geography. The president did not seem to know that Britain possessed nuclear weapons, Mr Bolton wrote, or that Finland was not part of Russia.

While those accounts prompted some mockery, Democrats mostly seemed frustrated at Mr Bolton's refusal to participate in the impeachment inquiry.

During the House proceeding, Mr Bolton declined to appear, joining a lawsuit that sought a decision from a federal judge about whether he should heed Congress' request for his testimony or a White House order not to participate.

Rather than engage in a lengthy court fight, House leaders wrapped up the inquiry in December without him and moved to a vote to impeach Mr Trump on two counts: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

But then in January, Mr Bolton abruptly changed course and said he would be willing to testify if subpoenaed at the Senate impeachment trial. By then, the matter was in the hands of Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, who moved to block any witnesses from being called, a decision that Republicans upheld in a nearly party-line vote, paving the way for the president's swift acquittal.

"The fact that he wasn't willing to testify in the House and was willing to tie us up in court for a long time but willing to tell the story to a book, to make money for a book, tells you a lot about John Bolton's character," Representative Adam Schiff of California, chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said on "CBS This Morning."

"Whether his testimony would have made significant difference in trial? It may have led to further evidence and further witnesses, but we will never know. And this is the price the country had to pay for John Bolton putting profit before country."