E-Paper
Trump's ex-aide John Bolton who backed India amid tariffs indicted over classified material
A vocal critic of US President Donald Trump's policies now, John Bolton served as his NSA for 17 months during the first term, before being fired in 2019.
John Bolton, former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, has been charged with unlawfully retaining top-secret records at his home and is accused of sharing more than 1,000 pages of classified government information with family members.
A vocal critic of US President Donald Trump's policies now, Bolton served as his NSA for 17 months during the first term, before being fired in 2019.
Trump's recent 50% tariff move against India was also one of the policies he opposed.
Charges against John Bolton
John Bolton is accused of sharing the classified information with two "unauthorized individuals", who are reportedly believed to be his wife and daughter. According to the US Justice Department, the classified information that Bolton had "revealed intelligence about future attacks, foreign adversaries, and foreign-policy relations", reported news agency AFP.
Besides, Bolton’s personal email account, which he allegedly used to share the classified information, was compromised in a cyberattack attributed to a group believed to be linked to Iran, the indictment further states
A federal grand jury in Maryland has charged Bolton on 18 counts of transmitting and retaining classified information.
However, the former NSA has denied all charges against him, calling the indictment an "intensive effort" by Donald Trump against his adversaries. "Now, I have become the latest target in weaponising the Justice Department to charge those he deems to be his enemies with charges that were declined before or distort the facts," he said.
Bolton isn't the first Trump opponent to be facing action in recent times. His indictment follows criminal charges against two other high-profile critics of the Republican president — New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey.
Ex-Trump aide's views on India tariffs
John Bolton was among some diplomats who came out in India's support back when trade tensions between New Delhi and Washington were riding high in the face of Donald Trump's 50% tariffs.
Bolton defended India’s right to purchase oil from Russia, a key factor behind half of the tariffs Trump imposed on Indian imports. He maintained that Western sanctions on Moscow during the Ukraine war should not prevent countries from buying Russian oil at the capped price and reselling it elsewhere at a profit.
“The complaint is that India took some of the gasoline it was buying from Russia, perhaps refined it and sold it internationally. That’s a complaint worth discussing. But the sanctions, as written, do not preclude anyone, including India, from buying Russian oil at the capped price, or below $60/barrel, and then selling it elsewhere. If that’s the complaint, the complaint lies with the sanctions, not so much with India’s behaviour,” Bolton told Hindustan Times in an interview.
After PM Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in China back in August, Bolton had lashed out at Trump, alleging he “set US-India relations back decades".
