On Friday, August 22, FBI agents searched the home and office of former U.S. President Donald Trump's national security advisor John Bolton. American media linked the actions of law enforcement to the memoirs of the former high-ranking official, in which he spoke critically of his former boss. The White House, however, denies that the investigation against John Bolton was triggered by Donald Trump's criticism.
The memoirs of former Donald Trump advisor John Bolton, 'The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir,' were published in June 2020. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump (who was completing his first term at the time) tried to block the release of this book due to what the White House considered classified information contained in it. However, federal judge Royce Lambert ruled that John Bolton could publish his memoirs, although he expressed concern that the author 'put the national security of the United States at risk' by forgoing the pre-publication review process.
John Bolton himself claimed that he coordinated several rounds of edits with the White House and only refused to cut out criticism of his former boss from his memoirs. He insisted that there was no classified information in his book. However, after its publication, a case was opened against him for disclosing state secrets, which was later closed under the administration of Joe Biden.
What John Bolton is known for
Back in 2020, Donald Trump stated in an interview with Fox News that his former aide should go to prison 'for many, many years' for revealing 'a huge amount of classified information.'
Last Friday, Donald Trump told reporters that he learned about the search at his former aide's house from TV news. 'No, I don't know about this. I saw it on television this morning,' he said, responding to reporters' questions during a visit to a museum dedicated to the history of the White House in Washington (quote from TASS).
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, in turn, hastened to assure the press that the investigation against John Bolton was not related to Bolton's public criticism of Donald Trump. 'We are investigating Bolton, but if a case is ultimately filed, it will only be on the grounds that it is established that he broke the law. We will act cautiously. We will act consciously because we do not believe that people should be put in prison—even if they disagree with us politically, especially if they disagree with us politically—people should not be thrown into prison on a whim,' he stated (quote from RIA Novosti).
In the Kremlin in 2020, they said they were 'reading slowly' Bolton's memoirs but urged not to overestimate the credibility of the information contained in them, including about the negotiations between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On the alleged interference of Russia in the American elections
“Trump believed that acknowledging Russia's interference in the politics of the U.S., as well as many other countries in Europe and other regions, would imply that he colluded with Russia during his 2016 election campaign. This opinion is mistaken both logically and politically; Trump could have had a stronger position in relations with Russia if he had opposed its attempts to undermine the elections rather than ignoring them, especially considering that specific measures, such as economic sanctions taken by his administration, were actually quite tough. As for his assessment of Putin himself, he never expressed his opinion, at least in my presence. I never asked what Trump thought, perhaps fearing what I might hear. His personal attitude toward the Russian leader remained a mystery.”
On Trump's foreign relations strategy
“A month after the June meeting in Singapore with Kim Jong Un, three consecutive July summits followed: a long-planned NATO meeting in Brussels with our partners in the most important alliance for America; a meeting between Trump and Theresa May in London—bilateral relations within the framework of 'special relations'; and a meeting between Trump and Putin in Helsinki—on neutral territory, to meet with our former and current rival, Russia. Before leaving Washington, Trump said: 'So, I have NATO, I have the UK—which is in a bit of chaos... and I have Putin. Honestly, Putin might be the easiest of them all. Who would have thought? Who would have thought?' Good question. It became clear to me that Trump was not following any grand international strategy or even a consistent trajectory. His thinking resembled an archipelago of separate points—like separate real estate deals.”
About the choice of the location for the presidents' meeting in 2018
“Trump very much wanted Putin to visit Washington, which the Russians were not planning to do, and we had disputes regarding Helsinki and Vienna as possible meeting places. Russia insisted on Vienna, and we insisted on Helsinki, but it turned out that Trump did not like the idea of Helsinki. 'Isn't Finland sort of a satellite of Russia?' he asked. (Later that same day, Trump asked White House Chief of Staff John Kelly whether Finland is part of Russia.) I tried to explain the history, but made little progress before Trump said he also wanted Vienna. 'Whatever the Russians want, tell them we agree to everything.' However, after further lengthy negotiations, we eventually settled on Helsinki.”
About the conversation with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin in June 2018
“Putin took a very tough stance on Ukraine, discussing the political and military aspects of the conflict in detail. Shifting to a more confrontational tone, he stated that American arms supplies to Ukraine are illegal and that such supplies are not the best way to resolve the issue. He even refused to discuss Crimea, noting that it is now simply part of historical reality. Then, in one of the most interesting moments of the meeting, he said that in 2014 Obama clearly told him that if Russia limited itself to the annexation of Crimea, the conflict in Ukraine could be resolved. However, for some reason, Obama changed his mind, and we found ourselves in the current deadlock. (...) Putin impressed me as a person who is fully in control of the situation, calm and confident, despite Russia's internal economic and political problems. He was well aware of Moscow's priorities in national security. I really did not want to leave him alone in a room with Trump.”
About how he trained Donald Trump on arms control
“Air Force One took off from Prestwick Airport in the middle of the day on Sunday, July 15, to Helsinki. Trump watched the World Cup match in Moscow while I tried to briefly inform him about the arms control issues we might discuss with Putin. I explained why the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) negotiated under Obama, which Trump criticized during the 2016 election campaign, was a failure and certainly should not be extended for another five years, as Moscow wished. I noted that Republicans in the Senate voted against this treaty in 2010 by a margin of 26 to 13, which I hoped would convince Trump. We also discussed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) and why I wanted to withdraw from it, as well as our national missile defense program, regarding which I said should not even be discussed with the Russians.”
About how the President of Finland prepared Donald Trump for the meeting with Vladimir Putin
“At nine-thirty in the morning, we went to the residence of the President of Finland for breakfast. Although various topics were touched upon, Niinistö wanted to make three important remarks regarding Russia, the first of which concerned how to behave with Putin. Niinistö reminded Trump that Putin is a fighter, and therefore Trump should resist him in case of an attack. Secondly, Niinistö emphasized the importance of respecting Putin and that if trust could be established, Putin could become more restrained. Finally, as if preparing for a boxing match, Niinistö warned Trump never to give his opponent a weak spot and not to yield an inch. He ended his pep talk with a Finnish proverb: 'The Cossacks take everything that lies poorly.'”
On Donald Trump's attitude towards sanctions and the criticism of other leaders
“Besides opposing sanctions, Trump also blocked a harmless statement condemning Russia on the anniversary of a decade since its invasion of Georgia. Russia would have ignored this, but the Europeans noticed the absence of such a statement and became even more doubtful about America's resolve. This was typical of Trump, who also blocked a statement project on the thirtieth anniversary of the bloody crackdown in Tiananmen Square in June 2019 and criticized the State Department for a press release issued without his knowledge. Trump apparently believed that criticizing the policies and actions of foreign governments made it difficult for him to establish good personal relations with their leaders. This reflected his unwillingness to separate personal relations from official ones. I am not aware of any cases where Russia or China refrained from criticizing the U.S. for fear of offending our sensitive leaders.”
What secrets John Bolton revealed about Russia, Vladimir Putin, and secret Russian-American negotiations
John Bolton's book has 570 pages (of which 100 pages are notes), and for such an impressive text, one of the most notable indicators is the statistics on the mention of a particular person or country. Donald Trump is mentioned 2,700 times, Vladimir Putin 194 times, and Russia (along with Moscow) 451 times. Of all foreign states, only Iran is mentioned more frequently, and among foreign leaders, only North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.