Daijiworld Media Network – Washington
Washington, Jun 8: US President Donald Trump has launched a fresh attack on his former National Security Advisor John Bolton, describing him as a “bad guy” and “very dishonest”, while claiming that Bolton is now paying the price for his actions.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while travelling to Chippewa Falls on Saturday, Trump criticised Bolton’s foreign policy views and accused him of repeatedly advocating military action.
“He's a bad guy, John Bolton. He's a dirty guy and we caught him. He wrote a book and took all the information he took. I looked at John Bolton as somebody that was a very dishonest guy and not a smart guy. I guess he's paying the price for certainly being dishonest,” Trump said.
The President further claimed that Bolton consistently pushed for military interventions.
“I was never much of a fan of John Bolton. I never thought he was a smart person. He was radical when it came to war. He wanted to go to war with anybody that opened their mouth, anybody that talked,” Trump said.
Trump added that he had appointed Bolton for a specific purpose but rarely followed his advice.
“I used him for a purpose. He was involved with Bush and created a lot of problems. He always wanted to kill people in war. That was okay for me as long as I didn't listen to him, which I never did,” he remarked.
The comments come amid reports that Bolton is expected to plead guilty in a case involving the alleged mishandling of classified documents.
According to media reports, Bolton is expected to plead guilty to one felony count of illegal retention of sensitive national security documents and has agreed to pay a fine exceeding USD 2 million. A conviction on the charge could carry a prison sentence ranging from no jail time to a maximum of 60 months.
The matter relates to allegations by Maryland prosecutors that Bolton improperly retained diary entries and other sensitive records from Trump's first term in office.
A court hearing in the case is reportedly scheduled for June 26.