Presumption of privilege

How the once-mighty have fallen.

This Is Your Brain on TDS: John Bolton’s Career Ends in Courtroom Disgrace
What has happened to John Bolton? As regrettable as it is, the answer is quite clear.

John Bolton’s long and distinguished career in public service began 45 years ago, when he served in 1981 and 1982 as a general counsel for USAID. After that, he was USAID’s assistant administrator for program and policy coordination; assistant attorney general for the office of legislative affairs; assistant attorney general for the civil division; assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs; a commissioner of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom; under secretary of state for arms control and international security; U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; and finally, national security advisor.

Bolton is now 77 years old; at this point, he should be enjoying a comfortable retirement and the appreciation of a grateful nation. Instead, as the Daily Mail reported, on Friday he “walked into federal court with a very stern expression before admitting to stealing national security secrets.”

What a comedown. Here is a man who spent practically his entire life in the service of the nation, and it all ends in a courtroom, as he confesses how he betrayed the public trust. What got into John Bolton? The diagnosis is all too easy: John Bolton sold his reputation under the influence of Trump Derangement Syndrome.

And so now Bolton, instead of spending his declining years attending rubber-chicken banquets in his honor and piling up awards for his living room wall, “pleaded guilty on Friday to a single charge of retaining classified information - a significant update in his criminal case, and one that may help him avoid a lengthy jail sentence.” It’s unclear whether he is receiving this leniency in view of his many years of government service or because the prosecutors hate Trump as much as he does.

Even with the leniency, however, Bolton could still spend some time in the prison cell that he so ardently hoped to see President Donald Trump occupying: “Under the terms of the deal, Bolton could serve up to 60 months, or 5 years, in prison in exchange for his guilty plea. He may also be required to pay a fine of up to $2.25 million and serve 100 hours of community service.”

And he damned well should, too. Lock his sorry ass up; perhaps he could while away some of his stretch in stir reflecting on the importance of accepting election results, even when he doesn’t much like them personally.