‘He’s a Bad Guy’: Trump Gives Real-Time Reaction to Bolton Indictment

As President Donald Trump answered questions on prescription drugs in the Oval Office on Thursday, a reporter informed the president that his former national security advisor, John Bolton, had just been indicted by a grand jury.

“John Bolton was just indicted by a grand jury in Maryland. Do you have a reaction to that?” the reporter asked.

“I did not know that, you are telling me for the first time, but I think — he’s a bad person. I think he’s a bad guy, yeah. He’s a bad guy. Too bad. But that’s the way it goes. That’s the way it goes, right? That’s the way it goes.”

The reporter then asked, “Have you reviewed the case against him?”

“No I haven’t, I haven’t,” the president answered. “But I just think he’s a bad person.”

Bolton faces 18 charges, according to CNN: eight counts of transmission of national defense information and 10 counts of retention of national defense information.

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement, “The FBI’s investigation revealed that John Bolton allegedly transmitted top secret information using personal online accounts and retained said documents in his house in direct violation of federal law.”

Bolton is expected to surrender himself to authorities at the federal court in Greenbelt, MD, as soon as Friday, CNN reported.

Trump’s former national security advisor is the third Trump “enemy” to be indicted since the president told Attorney General Pam Bondi to go after certain people that Trump felt had wronged him. In addition to Bolton, those indicted so far are former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Also on his list are Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and special prosecutor Jack Smith.

Trump’s message to Bondi, that he made public on Truth Social, sent shockwaves through Washington, D.C., when he specifically told his AG to go after his enemies.

“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” Trump wrote to Bondi in September. “They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”

Read the Justice Department statements about the Bolton indictment.