© Reuters/Jonathan DrakeFormer national security adviser
Former national security adviser John Bolton has leaked excerpts of his book to major newspapers,
accusing President Donald Trump of colluding with leaders in China and Turkey, and obstruction of justice "as a way of life."Facing a DOJ lawsuit seeking to block the publication of his memoir for containing classified information, Bolton decided to go to the press, leaking parts of the book to the
New York Times, the
Washington Post and the
Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.
Bolton famously
refused to testify before the Democrat-led impeachment proceedings against Trump over his alleged abuse of power regarding Ukraine,
but now claims that they should have expanded the probe to "a variety of instances when he sought to intervene in law enforcement matters for political reasons."
He accuses Trump of wanting to
"in effect, give personal favors to dictators he liked," bringing up companies in China and Turkey as examples, according to the
Times. "The pattern looked like obstruction of justice as a way of life, which we couldn't accept," the
Times quotes him as saying.
One of the Bolton "bombshells" is that
he sought China's purchase of US soybeans in order to get re-elected, during trade negotiations with President Xi Jinping.
An excerpt in the
Wall Street Journal has Trump telling Xi that - alleged - concentration camps for Uighur Muslims in China's Xinjiang province were "exactly the right thing to do." It also alleges that
Trump did Xi a favor by relaxing US sanctions on ZTE, a Chinese telecom company.
This comes as Trump signed into law the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020, which mandates US sanctions against Chinese officials over
"systematic use of indoctrination camps, forced labor, and intrusive surveillance to eradicate the ethnic identity and religious beliefs of Uyghurs and other minorities in China."Another excerpt has Bolton referring to
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin as a "Panda Hugger."As another proof of Trump's perfidy, Bolton writes that
the president told Xi that he would like to stay in office beyond the two terms the US Constitution would allow him. Bolton's one-time colleague Dinesh D'Souza commented that
Bolton was unable to recognize a clear joke.
As another proof of Trump's perfidy, Bolton writes that
the president told Xi that he would like to stay in office beyond the two terms the US Constitution would allow him. Bolton's one-time colleague Dinesh D'Souza commented that
Bolton was unable to recognize a clear joke.Trump has on more than one occasion shared a meme showing him staying in power forever, triggering Democrats into denouncing him as an aspiring dictator. Apparently, Bolton thought the same.
The mustachioed warhawk had served as Trump's national security adviser from April 2018 to September 2019. While the exact reason for his firing was never revealed,
Trump has since commented that Bolton was interfering with his peace initiatives and had "never seen a war he didn't like."Indeed,
the "most irrational thing" Bolton accuses Trump of was to refuse to bomb Iran in June 2019, according to the
New York Times excerpt.
Arguing that Trump is being "soft on China" and colluding with Xi also happens to be a Democratic Party strategy for the 2020 presidential election, outlined in April and reported by Axios.
While Democrats and the mainstream media welcomed Bolton's bombshells as validating their position on Trump, he is unlikely to become a #Resistance hero, simply because they still remember he refused to say these things under oath during the impeachment hearings, when they - in theory - could have bolstered their case for getting Trump out of office.
As for Trump supporters, many were indifferent about Bolton's betrayal,
noting that Trump hired the neocon in the first place and kept him on for over a year, while ditching the faithful General Michael Flynn after less than two weeks on the job, following a FBI ambush and a
Washington Post hit job.
Comment: Bolton's book was meant to hit the market just as the election frenzy is about to begin...as they say: 'timing is everything'. The lawsuit will muck that up, but not before Bolton gives away his treasure trove of innuendo for free in order to cement partnership with the Dems - his new best friends.
See:
US files breach of contract lawsuit against John Bolton blocking release of his bookBent on inflicting damage while defying legal court action, more Bolton leaks appear in the press:
Excerpts published from Bolton's forthcoming book on Wednesday claim that, during a sideline meeting at last year's G-20 summit in Japan, President Donald Trump asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping to boost his country's purchases of US agricultural goods, believing it would aid his re-election bid. Pressed about the claim at a Senate hearing later on Wednesday, Trump's top trade envoy, Robert Lighthizer, said in no uncertain terms that the allegation is false.
"There was a meeting on the outskirts of the G-20, in Osaka between the president and President Xi, and I was in that meeting, Absolutely untrue. Never happened. I don't want you to think I'm being deceptive. I said what meeting I was at, and this never happened at it. For sure."
The previews from Bolton's memoir come just a day after the Department of Justice launched a lawsuit seeking to force the former advisor to complete a pre-print review for the book, arguing it is "rife" with classified material. The book had reportedly been shipped out to warehouses, ready to hit the shelves, but the new suit could see its publication delayed, possibly prompting the leaked excerpts in retaliation.
Though Bolton has defended lying in service of US foreign policy goals on record, even openly boasting of his own ability to "spin" the facts, a number of American journalists and pundits rushed to endorse his version of the G-20 meeting.
Bolton, a main driving force behind the coup attempts in Venezuela, offers exploitable 'bombshells' timed for the upcoming election:
US President Donald Trump thought it would be "cool" to invade Venezuela but was persuaded not to by "Soviet-style propaganda" from Moscow, claims former national security adviser John Bolton in book excerpts leaked to the press.
Trump...described the South American country as "really part of the United States," according to the Washington Post.
In January 2019, Trump recognized opposition politician Juan Guaido as Venezuela's "interim president" at Bolton's urging - only to have doubts a day later, according to the book, saying that Guaido looked "weak" and childish next to the "tough" Maduro.
Trump was "largely persuaded" against overthrowing Maduro after a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin in May 2019, Bolton claims, calling Putin's comparison of Guaido with Trump's 2016 rival Hillary Clinton a "brilliant display of Soviet style propaganda," according to the Post.
Not accepting Bolton's innuendo,
the Kremlin had this to say:
The Kremlin has dismissed former US National Security Advisor John Bolton's claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin is able to manipulate his American counterpart Donald Trump.
Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Friday that Putin does not believe he can exploit or control the US leader. "No, Putin cannot play Trump like a 'fiddle'. What he thinks about Trump, he himself has repeatedly said in many interviews," Peskov explained.
Bolton describes Trump as a person who trusts Putin more than his own intelligence services. Bolton also alleges that the Russian president perceives Trump as a weak opponent.
In one instance, Bolton writes that Trump asked an aide whether Finland was part of Russia. The US president has slammed the book as a mixture of lies and fictional stories.
If these snippets of the book have any validity, it shows Trump is, at times, an independent thinker with a modicum of common sense. If Moscow offered 'a come to reason' moment with the president - good on them! It is clear Bolton was a poison pill from the beginning, likely one Trump had to swallow. Bolton's current machinations further reveal the trap within the neocon mind.
See also:
Comment: Bolton's book was meant to hit the market just as the election frenzy is about to begin...as they say: 'timing is everything'. The lawsuit will muck that up, but not before Bolton gives away his treasure trove of innuendo for free in order to cement partnership with the Dems - his new best friends.
See: US files breach of contract lawsuit against John Bolton blocking release of his book
Bent on inflicting damage while defying legal court action, more Bolton leaks appear in the press: Bolton, a main driving force behind the coup attempts in Venezuela, offers exploitable 'bombshells' timed for the upcoming election: Not accepting Bolton's innuendo, the Kremlin had this to say: If these snippets of the book have any validity, it shows Trump is, at times, an independent thinker with a modicum of common sense. If Moscow offered 'a come to reason' moment with the president - good on them! It is clear Bolton was a poison pill from the beginning, likely one Trump had to swallow. Bolton's current machinations further reveal the trap within the neocon mind.
See also: