E-Paper
John Bolton Republican or Democrat? All about ex-Trump NSA's political affiliation
Former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton was charged Thursday with illegally storing and transmitting classified information
Former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton was charged Thursday with illegally storing and transmitting classified information. According to court records, the indictment comes after court documents made public last month revealed that Bolton was under federal investigation for potential mishandling.
The investigation into Bolton, who served for more than a year in President Donald Trump's first administration before being fired in 2019, burst into public view in August when the FBI searched his home in Maryland and his office in Washington for classified records he may have held onto from his years in government.
Read More: US immigration agents ‘chasing H-1Bs', claims expert: What to know amid Trump government crackdown
Is John Bolton a Republican or a Democrat?
Bolton is unequivocally a Republican. The attorney, diplomat, and political commentator has been a fixture in Republican circles for decades, serving in high-level roles under every GOP administration since Ronald Reagan.
Born on November 20, 1948, in Baltimore, Maryland, Bolton graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in 1970 and a JD in 1974. His career began in the Reagan administration as a special assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for International Economic Policy, followed by roles in the George H.W. Bush administration at the State Department.
Under George W. Bush, he served as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security (2001-2005) and was recess-appointed as US Ambassador to the United Nations (2005-2006). Bolton rejoined the executive branch in 2018 as Trump's National Security Adviser, a post he held until his resignation in September 2019 amid policy clashes, including over Ukraine aid.
He has been a key figure in conservative think tanks like the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he was a vice president from 1997-2001, and the Project for the New American Century, co-founded in 1997 to advocate for US military primacy.
(With inputs from the Associated Press)
