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Democrats: Bolton misled panelPanel's Republicans issue brief in supportFrom Elise Labott  John Bolton testifies at his April 11 confirmation hearing. RELATEDJOHN R. BOLTONAGE: 56; born November 20, 1948, in Baltimore, Maryland EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree from Yale University, summa cum laude, 1970; law degree from Yale Law School, 1974 EXPERIENCE: Undersecretary of state for arms control and international security since May 11, 2001; assistant U.S. attorney general, 1985-1989; assistant administrator for program and policy coordination, U.S. Agency for International Development, 1982-1983; general counsel, U.S. Agency for International Development, 1981-1982; associate at the Washington office of Covington & Burlington, 1974-81; partner in the law firm of Lerner, Reed, Bolton & McManus, 1993-99 FAMILY: Married to the former Gretchen Brainerd; one daughter. Source: AP YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSWASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee issued a report Wednesday that portrays President Bush's nominee to be U.N. ambassador as unfit to serve. The 63-page report, which resembles a legal brief, said John R. Bolton tried repeatedly to discipline a government intelligence analyst who disagreed with him, but misled the committee about the matter. "We recommend that members of the Senate vote against John R. Bolton's nomination to be U.S. Representative to the United Nations," according to the report, provided to journalists by a Democratic committee staff member. The Republicans on the committee issued their own eight-page brief that according to The New York Times calls him "a highly qualified nominee" and disputes the Democrats' assessment. The Republican-dominated committee voted 10 to 8 along party lines last Thursday to send the Bolton nomination to the full Senate without a recommendation. (Full story) Sen. Barbara Boxer of California moved the next day to block an expected vote by the full Senate by putting a "hold" on his nomination. (Full story) A majority of 51 is needed to approve Bolton, but if Democrats launch a filibuster they could hold up the vote indefinitely since 60 votes are needed to shut off debate and they hold 44 seats. There are 55 Senate Republicans. Democrats hope their report will lay out a case that inspires some Republicans to vote against Bolton. The Democratic document accuses Bolton, who is undersecretary of state for arms control, of "four distinct patterns of conduct" the minority party says disqualify him for the post. It says that Bolton regularly tried to stretch intelligence to fit his views. It says he exhibited abusive behavior and intolerance for alternative views, repeatedly trying to fire intelligence analysts who disagreed with him. It accuses him of making "misleading, disingenuous or non-responsive statements" to the Foreign Relations Committee during his confirmation hearing. The conclusions were based on more than 30 interviews, a review of public documents, media reports and documents provided by the Bush administration, the panel's eight Democrats said. Their case centers around testimony during confirmation hearings in April that Bolton bullied subordinates and tried to get intelligence analysts who disagreed with him fired or reassigned. One of them was Christian Westermann, an analyst in the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, who disagreed with language Bolton wanted to use in a speech about Cuba. Bolton had planned to say in a speech, delivered to the Heritage Foundation in May 2002, that Cuba had a secret biological weapons program. Westermann would not approve the language used until it reflected the more ambiguous assessment of the intelligence community. Bolton said he thought Westermann had acted inappropriately by criticizing him behind his back. He said he did not want the man to be punished, but he did tell the man's supervisor that he had lost trust in him. The minority report says other interviews show Bolton attempted for months to have Westermann removed from his post but that Bolton testified under oath he "made no effort to have discipline imposed" on the analysts. "Bolton's effort to minimize the significance of his efforts is disingenuous," the report says. The report details attempts by Bolton to punish another State Department analyst he believed was withholding documents and two State Department analysts who disagreed with him on policy matters. The accounts were drawn from other interviews with committee staffers. And it accuses Bolton of personally traveling to the CIA to seek the removal of an analyst who disagreed with him on Cuba, although Bolton has denied the charge. "By itself, Mr. Bolton's credibility problem on intelligence matters makes him the wrong man for the U.N. job at this critical time," the report says. Democrats also criticize Bolton for his sometimes blunt comments about the United Nations, including a 1994 statement that "there is no such thing as the United Nations." The White House says Bolton, a longtime U.N. critic, is needed to promote reform within the world body. It has called allegations that he tried to get intelligence analysts who disagreed with him fired or reassigned "unsubstantiated." Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio, a key Republican on the committee, already said he will vote against Bolton when the issue comes before the full Senate. Voicing strong concerns about Bolton's suitability for the post, Voinovich said sending him to the world body would send a contradictory message to the world about U.S. public policy. The Democrats' report criticizes the Bush administration for failing to produce all of the documents requested, calling the withholding "an important matter of separation of powers." "The executive branch provided no compelling reason and cited no constitutionally based rationale for its failure to produce these documents," it says. 
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