Most people, just days after having their home raided by the FBI in a national security probe, might choose to remain silent. John Bolton is not most people.
In a defiant and blistering new op-ed, President Trump’s former National Security Advisor has unleashed a sweeping critique of the administration’s foreign policy, calling its efforts to end the war in Ukraine a failure marked by “confusion, haste, and disarray.”
This public attack, from a man now squarely in the government’s legal crosshairs, is more than just a settling of old scores. It’s a high-stakes constitutional drama about free speech, executive power, and the blurry line between national security and political retribution.
At a Glance: The Bolton Firestorm
- What’s Happening: Days after his home was raided by the FBI, former National Security Advisor John Bolton has published a scathing op-ed criticizing President Trump’s Ukraine diplomacy.
- Bolton’s Critique: He calls the administration’s strategy “confusion, haste, and disarray,” pointing to internal contradictions within the government and a “doomed” peace effort.
- The Raid Context: The op-ed comes as Bolton is reportedly under investigation for the mishandling of classified documents.
- The Constitutional Issue: The situation pits a citizen’s First Amendment right to criticize the government against the executive branch’s immense power to investigate national security matters, raising profound questions about potential retaliation and the separation of powers.
‘Confusion, Haste, and Disarray’
In the op-ed, published in the Washington Examiner, Bolton attacks the President’s recent diplomatic push as amateurish and destined to fail. He argues that the high-stakes summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska was rushed at a pace “almost surely unprecedented in modern history.”
He points to what he sees as chaotic diplomacy, such as the administration backing off new sanctions against Moscow immediately after the summit.
But Bolton’s most damaging claim is not one of malice, but of sheer incompetence – a White House so disorganized that its own policies are at war with each other.
The Contradiction at the Core
Bolton highlights a glaring contradiction at the heart of the administration’s current Ukraine strategy.
He notes that President Trump has publicly urged Ukraine to be more aggressive and to strike targets inside Russia. Yet, at the same time, Bolton cites recent reporting that the President’s own Pentagon has been blocking the delivery of the very long-range missiles – known as ATACMs – that Ukraine would need to carry out such strikes.
“Bolton’s most damaging claim is not one of malice, but of chaos – a White House saying one thing while the massive bureaucracy of the Pentagon does another.”
This, Bolton argues, is a sign of an incoherent policy that is confusing allies and undermining the war effort.
The Shadow of the Raid: A First Amendment Test
It is impossible to read Bolton’s op-ed without considering the extraordinary context in which it was written: days after the FBI raided his home and office.
This timing creates a profound constitutional stress test.
The First Amendment guarantees every citizen, including former government officials, the right to criticize the government. Bolton is exercising this fundamental right.
At the same time, the government, under the President’s Article II authority, has the power and responsibility to investigate potential crimes, especially those involving the mishandling of classified information. The Fourth Amendment requires that any such search be based on probable cause approved by a neutral judge.
“This is a profound constitutional stress test: Can the government legitimately investigate a former top official for national security crimes while that same official is actively exercising his First Amendment right to criticize the President who is ordering the investigation?”
While the investigation into Bolton may be legitimate, critics argue the appearance of the government raiding a prominent and vocal critic of the President could create a dangerous “chilling effect,” intimidating other former officials from speaking out.
A War of Insiders
This public battle is a rare and ugly look inside the normally secretive world of national security policymaking. The bitter feud between a President and his former top security advisor has now spilled out from tell-all books into blistering op-eds and FBI raids.
The administration and its allies insist this is a simple matter of upholding the law. As FBI Director Kash Patel recently put it, “NO ONE is above the law.”
Bolton and his supporters, however, are framing this as a politically motivated attack designed to silence a critic.
For the American public, the conflict is a disturbing spectacle. It undermines faith in the competence and integrity of the very institutions designed to keep the nation safe, leaving them to wonder whether they are witnessing the impartial administration of justice or a raw political vendetta.