Hawkish foreign policy advisers since Trump's first term as president have confronted alleged assassination threats from Iran.
The President of the United States Donald Trump has eliminated security protections for Mike Pompeo, Brian Hook and John Boltonhawkish foreign policy advisers who served in his first term in office.
The New York Times broke the story Thursday about Trump withdrawing protection for Pompeo, the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
According to anonymous sources familiar with the matter, Trump's order took effect on Wednesday at 11 p.m. Eastern Time (04:00 GMT, Thursday), removing both Pompeo and Hook, who was a top aide. of their security information.
That follows an earlier report that Trump did the same to Bolton, his former national security adviser. Bolton confirmed the news to CNN with a statement on Tuesday: “I'm disappointed but not surprised.”
Trump has since defended that decision, calling Bolton “a very dumb person”.
“We are not going to have security for people for the rest of their lives. Why should we?” Trump said.
But critics point out that Bolton, Pompeo and Hook have all faced murder charges threats from Iran.
All three leaders had taken a hard line against Iran throughout their foreign policy careers. Some analysts have speculated whether Trump's decision to revoke the security detail could be a form of retaliation for perceived disobedience.
One official from former President Joe Biden's administration confirmed to The Associated Press, on condition of anonymity, that Trump's team was well aware of the risks to the three men.
That person called Trump's decision “very reckless.”
Bolton had angered Trump with his subsequent public criticism sent out as national security adviser in 2019. He had served under previous Republican presidents, including George W Bush and Ronald Reagan.
In his memoir, Bolton wrote harshly about the Trump presidency. “A mountain of facts show that Trump is unfit to be president,” Bolton said.
Pompeo, meanwhile, has been less vocal in his protests, but briefly flirted with a possible run in the 2024 presidential election, before low poll numbers dashed his hopes. under it. He went on to campaign on behalf of Trump in 2024.
During Trump's first term, from 2017 to 2021, Pompeo and Hook were the architects of the US stance of “maximum pressure” towards Iran.
That period was marked by the US withdrawing from details to prevent Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons in exchange for relief from devastating US Sanctions.
It is unclear whether Trump will pursue a similar strategy in his second term.
But some experts have speculated that members of Trump's inner circle have become more critical of the interventionist, assertive stance advocated by figures like Bolton and Pompeo.
Trump had said Pompeo would have no role in his administration. This week, he also announced on social media that Hook had been fired as president of the Wilson Center, a think tank.
Dozens of intelligence officials who signed a 2020 letter saying there were signs of “Russian intelligence” in the Hunter laptop scandal have had their security clearances revoked in recent days. Biden on their security clearances.
