Bolton announced Tuesday that within hours of taking office, President Trump rescinded U.S. Secret Service protection for John R. Bolton, citing threats against his life from Iran and providing detailed information about the security services given to him. He said he had stripped him of his position as national security adviser.
Bolton said he received a call from a Secret Service official Monday evening, less than 12 hours after Trump was sworn in for his second term, telling him the president wanted to lift security.
“I am disappointed but not surprised that President Trump has made this decision,” Bolton said in a statement to The New York Times. “Despite my criticism of President Biden's national security policies, he has made the decision to once again extend Secret Service protection to me in 2021.”
“In 2022, the Department of Justice filed criminal charges against an Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps official for trying to hire a hitman to target me,” he said.
“The threat remains, as evidenced by the recent arrest of the person who attempted to orchestrate President Trump's own assassination,” Bolton said. “The American people can decide for themselves which president made the right decision.”
A Secret Service spokeswoman said the agency does not comment on or confirm information about protected operations. A White House press secretary did not respond to an email requesting comment.
But Trump himself acknowledged at the White House on Tuesday that he had ended Secret Service protection for reporters.
“We're not going to guarantee people security for the rest of their lives. Why should we?” Trump said he was guaranteed some form of protection for the rest of his life as president. Ta.
Trump had a falling out with Bolton in 2019 and ousted him. Mr. Bolton later wrote a book detailing his time working for Mr. Trump, which infuriated the president and his administration tried to block its publication.
According to the Justice Department, Bolton was the target of a murder plot in 2022 by Shahram Poursafi of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Justice Department officials said they suspected the alleged plot was in retaliation for a military attack Trump ordered against Iran's top commander, Qassim Suleimani, in January 2020. Ta.
Mr. Bolton and Mr. Trump's last national security adviser in his first administration, Robert C. O'Brien, were granted Secret Service protection by Mr. Biden in 2021. While Mr. O'Brien continues to defend Mr. Trump, both men have strongly criticized Mr. Biden's foreign policy decisions. O'Brien's national security details were withdrawn by the Biden administration in 2024.
The president and other Trump administration officials face continued threats from Iran following the killing of Suleimani. Mr. Biden's administration increased protection for Mike Pompeo, the last secretary of state in Mr. Trump's first term, and one of his top aides, Brian H. Hook, in late 2023 amid continued threats from Iran.
Mr. Trump has criticized Mr. Pompeo privately and Mr. Hook publicly. It is also unclear whether they still have protection now that Trump is back in office.
Shortly before Trump was the target of an assassination attempt at an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last July, security was tightened for him amid growing threats from Iran. The assassination attempt, which injured Trump's right ear, had no connection to Iran.
Nevertheless, Iran's threat to Trump continued through much of 2024, according to people briefed on the matter.
