When his former national security adviser, John Bolton, was indicted for allegedly mishandling classified information, President Donald Trump had few words of consolation.
"I think he's a bad guy. Yeah – he's a bad guy. It's too bad, but that's the way it goes, Trump said at a press conference.
In fact, Trump called Bolton a "criminal" in 2020, alleging Bolton published classified information in a book and "should go to jail for that." (Bolton is now criminally accused of transmitting classified information, but not through a book.)
Ironically, Trump himself once faced some similar charges to Bolton's. The president was charged in 2023 with willfully retaining national defense information. That same year, a spokesperson for Trump's 2024 campaign called those charges an "empty hoax."
Trump, like Bolton, pleaded not guilty. After he won the 2024 presidential election, the Justice Department dropped the case, citing a policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.
