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President Donald Trump reportedly revoked former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s Secret Security protection on Tuesday, according to the former Trump official.
Bolton shared the report in a post to his X account on Tuesday.
“I am disappointed but not surprised that President Trump has decided to terminate the protection previously provided by the United States Secret Service. Notwithstanding my criticisms of President Biden’s national-security policies, he nonetheless made the decision to extend that protection to me in 2021,” Bolton wrote.
“The Justice Department filed criminal charges against an Iranian Revolutionary Guard official in 2022 for attempting to hire a hit man to target me. That threat remains today, as also demonstrated by the recent arrest of someone trying to arrange for President Trump’s own assassination. The American people can judge for themselves which President made the right call,” he added.
In August 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in connection with an assassination plot targeting John Bolton.
The DOJ announced a reward of up to $20 million for information leading to the suspect’s arrest or conviction. According to the department, the suspect allegedly offered $300,000 to individuals to carry out the assassination between October 2021 and April 2022.
The president also signed an executive order revoking Bolton’s security clearance over a tell-all memoir the former ambassador released in 2020. The order also ended the security clearance of dozens of former intelligence officials who signed a letter ahead of the 2020 presidential election claiming that Hunter Biden’s laptop was Russian misinformation.
“Former National Security Advisor John R. Bolton published a memoir for monetary gain after he was terminated from his White House position in 2019,” the order stated.
“The book was rife with sensitive information drawn from his time in government. The memoir’s reckless treatment of sensitive information undermined the ability of future presidents to request and obtain candid advice on matters of national security from their staff. Publication also created a grave risk that classified material was publicly exposed,” it added.