(John Bolton with Kaitlan Collins - photo courtesy CNN)
So, #JohnBolton former national security adviser of #DonaldTrump turned bete-noire has been indicted by the Maryland Federal Court. Notably, this is not a case of accusations or charges being filed - but the verdict of a 12 member grand Jury presided over by a Federal Judge - Theodore Chuang - who, incidentally, was appointed by the Obama Administration. Though allegations of “weaponisation’ of the Judiciary may still be made any suggestion of judicial bias, may not hold much water.
Bolton has been a vocal critic of the Trump Administration and we have seen him regularly on TV holding forth against its decisions about the economy, tariffs and foreign policy. Even on the trade negotiations with India Bolton has scathing in his views about Trump’s advisors.
While Bolton has been allegedly found guilty of sharing classified “confidential, classified and top secret” information with unauthorised persons (two of them happen to be his family members), which may have been hacked by foreign adversaries (notably Iran) - the real trigger seems to have been his memoir “The Room Where it Happened”. Like many others, he may have assumed that there was little chance of Trump returning to the White House for another term. In hindsight, despite protestations about “dissent and disagreement are fundamental to the American Democratic System”, he could be cursing himself for a major miscalculation.
Bolton is supposed to be the third in the line of high-profile Trump adversaries who have been indicted in less than a month (New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey) in what ABC News says “critics call a campaign of retribution”, while Vice President JD Vance said, “driven by law and not by politics.”
What one would watch with interest is how American Civil Society, intellectual liberati and Democrats react to these moves.
However, we can safely visualise how it would have played out in India - which is ranked at the near bottom of “democratic index” by so called “highly respected” watchdogs. Firstly, there would have been no indictment as cases drag on for years - if not decades in India. Star lawyers would have obtained bail for the accused in hours (possibly over phone). Hell would break loose - with cries of “Democracy Khatrein Mein Hain” and Rise of Fascism. International activists would have joined the chorus and some foreign embassies would have issued statements of concern. Perhaps, questions would be asked at the White House Press Briefings and be told by the spokesperson that “we are closely observing the situation”, may be the Secretary of State or other high ranking officials of the “State Government” weigh in reiterating their commitment for “upholding democratic values”.
John Bolton has quoted, Joseph Stalin’s head of secret police apocryphal statement, ‘You show me the man, and I’ll show you the crime.’’ In international diplomacy too - different rules apply to different countries.
EOD
#JohnBolton #DonaldTrump #CNN #KaitlanCollins #politics #worldpolitics #internationalnews #theghosepot