Within the first 24 hours of taking office, the Trump administration revoked U.S. Secret Service protection for Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton, who became a critic of the president after being ousted from the first Trump administration in 2019 who. Multiple sources told CBS News the decision was made within the past 24 hours.
Bolton, an outspoken critic of President Trump, was granted Secret Service protection by the Biden administration in December 2021 for the first time since he served in the Trump White House. The decision follows a series of threats from Iran related to drone strikes ordered by Trump in retaliation during Bolton's tenure, leading to the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
Bolton told CBS News in a statement that he was "disappointed but not surprised by President Trump's decision."
Bolton continued: "Despite my criticism of President Biden's national security policies, he has decided to provide me with Secret Service protection again in 2021."
In 2022, Shahram Porsafi, a member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was accused of masterminding Bolton's murder. The Justice Department said in 2022 that the plot "may have been retaliation for the death of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander Qasem Soleimani in January 2020." The FBI is offering a $300,000 reward for information leading to the capture of Bossafi. Last September, the Biden administration announced a reward of up to $20 million for information about Bossafi.
Bolton added in today's statement, "The threat remains today, as evidenced by the recent arrest of a man who tried to arrange for President Trump's assassination. The American people can judge for themselves which president did the right thing." Decide."
Both Bolton and Robert O'Brien, another former national security adviser under Trump, requested continued Secret Service protection long after they left office, citing potential threats from Iran. According to a report to Congress by former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, which CBS' "60 Minutes" obtained through "Freedom" last year, the two The total protection for a person over the past year was $12,280,324, a cost paid for by U.S. taxpayers. Information Act Requirements.
As is standard with all Secret Service protective officers, Bolton has dedicated agents protecting his security 24 hours a day, covering his home and domestic and foreign travel.
The Secret Service declined a request for comment.
On Monday, Mr. Trump took executive action, starting revoke security clearance Bolton and dozens of intelligence officials signed a letter in 2020 claiming emails found on a laptop owned by Hunter Biden bore the hallmarks of a Russian disinformation campaign.
The administrative action is Sign a series of measures Trump's comments, which came just hours after being sworn in for a second term, were his first moves to target those he considers political opponents as he returns to the White House.
Other actions taken on the first day of the Trump administration included the removal of a new portrait of former Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley from a Pentagon wall. According to reports, Milley had previously criticized Trump as a "fascist" and a "wannabe dictator."
