John Bolton's Secret Service protection discontinued by Trump administration

Source: CBS News

Updated on: January 21, 2025 / 2:57 PM EST


In its first 24 hours in office, the Trump administration removed U.S. Secret Service protection from former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, who became a critic of the president after Bolton's ouster from the first Trump administration in 2019. Multiple sources told CBS News the decision was made in the past 24 hours.

Bolton, an outspoken critic of President Trump, was granted Secret Service protection by the Biden administration in December 2021 for the first time since he served in the Trump White House. That decision followed a series of threats from Iran linked to retaliation for a drone strike ordered by Mr. Trump during Bolton's tenure, resulting in the assassination Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.

In a statement, Bolton told CBS News that he is "disappointed but not surprised that President Trump has made this decision." "Notwithstanding my criticisms of President Biden's national-security policies, he nonetheless made the decision to once again extend Secret Service protection to me in 2021," Bolton continued.

In 2022, Shahram Porsafi, a member of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was charged with a murder plot targeting Bolton. The Justice Department said in 2022 that the plot was "likely in retaliation for the January 2020 death of Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Qasem Soleimani." The FBI offered a $300,000 reward for information leading to Porsafi's capture. Last September, the Biden administration announced a reward of up to $20 million for information on Porsafi.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-boltons-secret-service-protection-discontinued-by-trump-administration/