President Donald Trump said he was largely unaware of the FBI’s raid on his home and described John Bolton as “a lowlife.”
Trump claimed that, although he had seen media coverage of the FBI search of his suburban Maryland residence, he was not fully informed about the details. He indicated he is likely to receive a briefing from the Justice Department.
Speaking to reporters at the People’s House museum near the White House on Friday, Trump said, “I’m not a fan of John Bolton. He’s a real sort of a lowlife.”
Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Bolton has been a vocal critic of Trump since serving in his first term. The former president has already revoked Bolton’s security detail and clearance, even amid an Iranian assassination plot.
Trump said Bolton was appointed to alarm foreign nations with his hostile image. He has also labeled Bolton “unpatriotic” and “very bad at what he does.”
“He’s a very quiet person, except on television, if he can say something bad about Trump,” Trump stated. “He’s not a smart guy, but he could be a very unpatriotic guy. We’re going to find out.”
Following Trump’s August 15 meeting with Vladimir Putin, Bolton told CNN that the Russian President “clearly won” the Alaska conference. In prior statements, Bolton has questioned Trump’s capability to serve as president.
According to a June 2020 lawsuit, while reviewing a $2 million book for publication, Ellen Knight, the National Security Council’s senior director for records access, found “significant amounts of classified information,” including some labeled “TOP SECRET.”
Bolton’s lawyer, Chuck Cooper, called the case “a transparent attempt to use national security as a pretext to censor” Bolton.
In 2021, the Justice Department under the Biden administration dropped the criminal investigation after a court denied the lawsuit’s request to block the book.
