Bolton likens Trump administration to Stalin's secret police after indictment
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Former national security adviser John Bolton in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in September. Photo: Jason Bergman/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Former national security adviser John Bolton responded to his indictment Thursday by saying he's become the "latest target" in President Trump's "weaponizing" of the Department of Justice "to charge those he deems to be his enemies."
The big picture: The indictment of Trump's first-term national security adviser for his handling of classified documents comes weeks after former FBI director James Comey was indicted.
- Bolton in his scathing statement, likened what's happening at the DOJ under the president to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's secret police, who cracked down on perceived enemies in the "great purge" of the 1930s.
What he's saying: "For four decades, I have devoted my life to America's foreign policy and national security. I would never compromise those goals," said the former U.S. ambassador to the UN under President George W. Bush in an emailed statement.
- "I tried to do that during my tenure in the first Trump Administration but resigned when it became impossible to do so."
- Bolton claimed Trump's "retribution" against him began then and continued when Trump "tried unsuccessfully to block the publication" of his book before the 2020 election and became "one of his rallying cries" in his re-election campaign.
Zoom in: "Now, I have become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he deems to be his enemies with charges that were declined before or distort the facts," Bolton said.
- He said the government officials cleared the contents of his book for publication and over "four years of the prior administration, after these reviews," no charges were ever filed.
- "Then came Trump 2 who embodies what Joseph Stalin's head of secret police once said, 'You show me the man, and I'll show you the crime,'" Bolton said.
- "These charges are not just about his focus on me or my diaries, but this intensive effort to intimidate his opponents, to ensure that he alone determines what is said about his conduct," he added.
- "Dissent and disagreement are foundational to America's constitutional system, and vitally important to our freedom. I look forward to the fight to defend my lawful conduct and to expose his abuse of power."
The other side: Trump, who said as he took questions at the White House on Thursday that he learned of Bolton's indictment when a reporter asked him about it, called Bolton "a bad guy," adding: "Too bad. But that's the way it goes."
- The president said he hadn't reviewed the case against Bolton, "but I just think he's a bad person."
- A White House spokesperson referred Axios to the DOJ and Trump's earlier comments in the Oval Office when asked to respond to Bolton's statement. The DOJ did not immediately respond to Axios' Thursday evening request for comment.
Go deeper: How the Trump-Bolton relationship devolved into chaos and an FBI raid
Editor's note: This article has been updated with comment from President Trump and further context.
