President Trump revoked U.S. Secret Service protection for John R. Bolton hours after taking office, stripping his former national security adviser of security details granted to him due to death threats from Iran, Bolton said on Tuesday.
Mr. Bolton said he received a call from a Secret Service official Monday evening, less than 12 hours after Mr. Trump was sworn in as president for his second term, telling him that the president wanted to end his security.
“I am disappointed but not surprised that President Trump has made this decision,” Mr. Bolton said in a statement to the New York Times. “Despite my criticism of President Biden’s national security policy, he nevertheless made the decision to extend Secret Service protection to me again in 2021.”
“The Department of Justice filed charges against an Iranian Revolutionary Guard official in 2022 for attempting to hire a hitman to target me,” he said.
“This threat remains today, as also demonstrated by the recent arrest of an individual who attempted to organize President Trump’s own assassination,” Bolton said. “The American people can judge for themselves which president made the right choice.”
A Secret Service spokesperson said the agency had no comment or confirmed reports about its protection efforts. A White House spokesperson did not respond to an email seeking comment.
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