Former National Security Advisor John Bolton, who served in the Trump administration, warned in an interview Tuesday that the public is not taking former President Trump’s threats of revenge seriously enough.
“I don’t think there are enough people,” Bolton said in an interview with MSNBC’s “The 11th Hour” when asked whether people take the threats seriously enough.
“When you hear Trump say things like, ‘People are saying that I — that retribution can be justified,’ what he really means is, ‘I’m saying that retribution can be justified,’” Bolton added. “And I think he has a long list of opponents that he wants to pursue.”
Trump – who was criminally indicted four times after leaving office, including in two federal cases – has frequently signaled an interest in going after his political opponents if he regains the White House, frequently telling supporters at his rallies before the campaign launch: “I am your retribution.”
Bolton said he fears the federal judiciary will be put “under real pressure” if Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is elected to a second term.
“But I think the Justice Department, under the Trump administration, will be in continued chaos as he tells his political appointees to go after you. And what these lawyers do will say a lot about their legal integrity,” he said.
Trump was found guilty last month by a jury on all 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide alleged affairs during his 2016 campaign. This makes him the first former US president to be convicted of a crime.
The former president has railed against his legal troubles, calling them “election interference” and claiming they are being orchestrated by the Biden White House. There is no evidence that President Biden or his advisers had any involvement in Trump’s legal cases.
In an interview with “Dr. Phil” late last week, Trump dismissed the host’s suggestion that Trump didn’t have time to “get even” with his critics.
“Well, revenge takes time, I will say that. And sometimes revenge can be justified, Phil, I have to be honest. Sometimes it can,” Trump responded in the interview.
“I think the country is actually worse off for what they did, and I think you see that when you look at the poll numbers,” Trump continued. “When you see that almost $400 million has been invested since this horrible decision was made. That was a few days ago. Numbers that no one has ever heard of in politics before. It’s a great honor. The people of our country understand this.”
After the verdict, Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity he would have “every right to go after them” after his own indictment.
The former president told Newsmax last week that it was “very possible” that Democrats could face prosecution in the future.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
