John Bolton Responds to Indictment, Vows to 'Expose' Trump's 'Abuse of Power': 'I Look Forward to the Fight'
Source: MEDIAite
Oct 16th, 2025, 7:23 pm
Former National Security Adviser John Bolton fired back after he was indicted Thursday, vowing to fight the charges and expose President Donald Trumps abuse of power.
Bolton served during Trumps first term, leaving in September 2019 and evolving into a fierce critic of his former boss winning him praise from Democrats and Never Trump Republicans but putting him in the presidents crosshairs, especially after Trump won re-election and with it, access to government power again.
In August, the FBI raided Boltons home, reportedly related to a national security investigation into classified documents and notes he sent himself on an AOL email account while he was working for the Trump administration. Thursday, a Maryland grand jury returned an indictment against Bolton, charging him with eight counts of transmission of national defense information and ten counts of retention of national defense information.
Bolton, both directly and through his legal representation, has repeatedly denied that he mishandled classified materials, and he issued a longer statement Thursday evening specifically responding to the indictment.
Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/crime/john-bolton-responds-to-indictment-vows-to-expose-trumps-abuse-of-power-i-look-forward-to-the-fight/
sop
(16,919 posts)Discovery should be fun.
rurallib
(64,419 posts)Walleye
(43,252 posts)EYESORE 9001
(29,318 posts)Theyre almost as reprehensible.
rurallib
(64,419 posts)here is hoping Bolton is driven by the revenge factor
But(I could be wrong!) as hawkish as he was him & Bush Jr.wouldn't divvy up the USA to sell off wholesale.
Don't get me wrong! It's not like they are good people!
BumRushDaShow
(163,499 posts)groundloop
(13,454 posts)BumRushDaShow
(163,499 posts)At least their group's co-founder Bill Kristol, has been vehemently anti-45.
Link to tweet
@BillKristol
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"Protest events now occur across a wider range of U.S. counties than we have observed since January 2017. And the current protest movement has already reached deeper into Trump country than at almost any point during the first Trump administration."
wagingnonviolence.org
The resistance reaches into Trump country
As organizers for No Kings 2 seek historic turnout on Oct. 18, the broader pro-democracy movement has already broken new ground.
8:38 AM · Oct 17, 2025
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@BillKristol
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"And so, when millions of Americans gather tomorrow under the banner of No Kings, they will do so in the spirit of Jefferson and Madison, and in loyalty to the Declaration and the Constitution."
thebulwark.com
Trumps Very Own Basket of Deplorables
The president and his movement are dropping the fig leaf and declaring half the country the enemy. How can this go on?
9:45 AM · Oct 17, 2025
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@BillKristol
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We followed all the rules. But in Trumps second term, theres no level of competence, compliance, or silence that will protect people from state retribution. That theyre getting to people like me this early is such a tell. They are moving so fast.
spinclass.substack.com
I'm On a Trump Enemies List. The Kids' Backpacks Still Need to be Washed.
On being a (very) minor character in America's descent into authoritarianism
9:54 AM · Oct 17, 2025
NCDem47
(3,227 posts)Bring it on. Trump, you wanted this!
Bluetus
(1,938 posts)We will usually disagree about policies, but this is much bigger. We can only have those policy disagreements in a functioning democracy. Our top priority must be to restore the democracy and force out the oligarchs, billionaires, fascists, Nazis.
We should be actively seeking partnerships with those RWers who genuinely are willing to stand up for our democracy. It started with Liz Cheney and Adam Kinsinger. Now we have MTG and Bolton. We can add prominent Republicans one at a time and soon we will reach the tipping point.
I hope everybody brings this attitude to the No Kings rallies.
That brings up an interesting point about Newsom and Joe Rogan. Newsom took a lot of heat for going on Rogan's program. IMHO, the problem was not in talking with Rogan. The problem was in using a tone of meeting him halfway. You can't meet the fascists halfway. There is no such thing as "half fascism". That's like being "a little pregnant" "Half fascism" is just regular fascism that isn't done yet.
The outcry against Newsom caused him to pull back at take a much more vigorous, strident tone and tactics. And guess what, just a few weeks later, Rogan is now coming to realize that we are in an authoritarian state. And he may yet become an ally -- on our terms.
https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/joe-rogan-trumps-mass-deportations-i-really-thought-they-were-just-going-go-after
Deminpenn
(17,182 posts)R administrations
Lovie777
(21,182 posts)And he knows about the Epstein files toooooooooooooooooooooo.
GreenWave
(12,020 posts)Scrivener7
(57,868 posts)progressoid
(52,362 posts)I hate that fucking guy.
I hope he wins.
róisín_dubh
(12,183 posts)But here we are.
Javaman
(64,937 posts)that's the last thing the orange asshole wants.
greatauntoftriplets
(178,525 posts)But for once in his life, he's doing the right thing. I hope that he spills bigly.
Walleye
(43,252 posts)sop
(16,919 posts)groundloop
(13,454 posts)I can't imagine why.
cab67
(3,540 posts)I know he's a son of a bitch, but he's our son of a bitch.
(I realize I'm stretching things here; it's highly unlikely he sees himself as aligned with us. But we have a common enemy.)
Raven123
(7,333 posts)I dont trust Bolton any more than Trump. Just hope the truth prevails
timms139
(443 posts)with the devil expect to wake up with blisters .
BigMin28
(1,809 posts)John Bolton, but if anyone can put up a fight against tsf it would be him. He is ornery, mean and cutt throat. He isn't afraid of Stinky. This would be entertaining if it were not so serious.
radical noodle
(10,435 posts)he should have already exposed him. He's no hero for telling about it now, when his own life is affected. Although I hope he has plenty of proof, it's a little late now for the rest of us... and magats will never believe it, anyway.
azureblue
(2,623 posts)at Trump's betrayal. Trump just started a $hiT$h0w. John is out for revenge.
BumRushDaShow
(163,499 posts)yet he still clung to his unwavering GOP roots. He's gonna end up like Aaron Burr!
Wonder Why
(6,388 posts)Stargleamer
(2,564 posts)to testify back then. They refused to.
FakeNoose
(39,545 posts)I wonder if he's going to be called to testify on this case against Bolton?
The two of them could blow the whole thing wide open, if they wanted to.
MontanaMama
(24,589 posts)Whats he waiting for? Get the show on the road.
LisaM
(29,423 posts)is pretty much responsible for this debacle, since it completely reshaped the Supreme Court and led to Citizens United and the shredding of the Voting Rights Act. We likely wouldn't have Roberts or Alito or Gorsuch or Kavanaugh or Barrett. We can start with Roberts and Alito, because they were directly appointed by Bush.
It's cold comfort knowing that Bolton and has ilk helped create this mess, but it would help if they'd at least accept some blame. That frenzy to get into an Iraq war really messed this country up.
moonscape
(5,612 posts)LisaM
(29,423 posts)but I take your point.
It would be nice if Bolton acknowledged how we got here, though. All that normalization of Bush had consequences.
Jilly_in_VA
(13,538 posts)I don't care who sticks it to Shitler at this point. ANYBODY can do it, as far as I'm concerned. Bolton is better equipped than most, since he knows where lots of bodies are buried. Between him and Comey, Shitler ought to come out looking about like this guy
[url=https://postimg.cc/rD6fBvZ5][img]
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in2herbs
(4,075 posts)publish another book?
SpankMe
(3,634 posts)...that I find myself in sympathy with some of his prior staffers whom Trump had turned on.
LetMyPeopleVote
(172,883 posts)
Bluetus
(1,938 posts)Last edited Fri Oct 17, 2025, 09:34 PM - Edit history (1)
create a legal defense fund with the mission of defending our democracy, and support the legal costs of defendants in these pivotal, high profile cases, regardless of the defendants' prior political philosophies.
We will not often agree with Bolton politically, but that does not matter. Defending our democracy is really the only priority now.
And these influential billionaires should put pressure on other billionaires to chip in to this fund, considering they have all gotten rich from the political system we are fighting to preserve.
If there were a massive fund in defense of democracy, Trump would have to abandon his weaponization of the courts, at least to some degree.
Callie1979
(1,037 posts)SKKY
(12,716 posts)...this shit got me pulling for John Bolton. How crazy is that??
KS Toronado
(22,144 posts)Along with anyone else dumpie is siccing the DOJ on.
Darkstar53142
(79 posts)< EatingPopcornMeme >
Dem4life1970
(1,019 posts)...in recent days I have found myself smiling at Marjorie Taylor Green and rooting for John Bolton. What is happening?
LudwigPastorius
(13,838 posts)And I did not speak out because I was not a shithead