Bolton calls on Trump to end campaign with criminal charges ‘piling up’

Former national security adviser John Bolton called on former President Trump to end his campaign for president following the release of the 37-count federal indictment against him. 

Bolton tweeted on Friday that criminal charges are piling up against Trump and he would support the rule of law instead of violating it if he truly believed in prioritizing the country’s interests. 

“Donald Trump should immediately withdraw as a candidate for president. Criminal charges are piling up around him.  If Trump truly stood for America First policies, he would support the rule of law instead of continually flouting it. Withdraw now!” he said. 

Bolton, who served as Trump’s national security adviser for about a year and as ambassador to the United Nations during George W. Bush’s administration, has previously sharply criticized his former boss, more recently telling CNN that Trump did “enormous damage” to the country and the Republican Party. 

Former U.S. national security advisor John Bolton delivers a speech to discuss a subject titled ”Maintaining Long Term Peace and Security in Taiwan” at the Global Taiwan National Affair Symposium XII in Taipei, Taiwan, Saturday, April 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

The indictment against Trump was unsealed on Friday, revealing that he has been charged with 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information in violation of the Espionage Act, along with six other charges. 

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and argued that the investigation into the classified and sensitive documents that were taken to his Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Fla., after he left the White House is politically motivated. 

The case against Trump marks the second set of charges he is facing after he was indicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records by a Manhattan grand jury earlier this spring. The charges stem from payments that his former attorney, Michael Cohen, made to adult film star Stormy Daniels for her to remain quiet about an affair that she allegedly had with Trump ahead of the 2016 presidential election. 

Trump is also facing criminal investigations over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and the broader efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and efforts to overturn the 2020 results in Georgia. 

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More Trump indictment coverage from The Hill

• What happens next with case, campaign plans
• Democratic lawmakers claim indictment news shows Trump ‘not above the law’
• GOP sees unequal treatment, conflict of interest in Trump indictment
• Trump shakes up legal team after indictment

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Trump has remained the clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president in 2024 despite the various legal issues.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R), a competitor for the Republican nomination, called on Trump to drop out of the race after the Manhattan indictment, saying it would be a “huge distraction” from the election.