Former Trump White House attorney Ty Cobb delivered a quip about his initial response to the FBI raid of John Bolton’s home that left NPR’s Steve Inskeep in stitches on Monday.
“Well, I went down and locked my door,” deadpanned Cobb, now a vocal Trump critic, when asked for his reaction. It prompted a long laugh from Inskeep.
Inskeep then replied: “Well, OK, so you’re ready for a knock. I think you’re saying that it seems like even somebody who worked for the president is not safe in this situation?”
Cobb agreed. “I think anybody that’s critical of the president has justifiable paranoia at this stage of the game,” he said. But he also cautioned “to not overreact” to the raid.
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Bolton, who served as Trump’s national security adviser for 17 months, has long been a target of Trump’s ire following the release of his 2020 memoir, “The Room Where It Happened.” The Department of Justice launched a criminal investigation at the time to see whether it revealed classified information and even tried, unsuccessfully, to block its publication and profits.
That probe was dropped under President Joe Biden. But CNN has reported its now been reopened with the raid of Bolton’s home tied to the potential handling of classified records.
Listen to the interview here:
Cobb suggested retribution was “certainly” at play with the targeting of Bolton.
“There’s certainly an abandonment of traditional norms at the Justice Department in going back and doing this,” he said.
Still, he noted how Bolton’s book had been heavily reviewed by the White House and approved for release by a federal court after the Trump administration tried to block its publication.
“It’s certainly possible that they’ll find documents that they insist are classified,” Cobb said. “Whether in fact at this stage of the game that classification is real or not would have to be litigated.”
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Cobb also doubted Bolton would be charged.
“I differ from others on those who say that he’s certain to be indicted,” he said.
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