Hawkish foreign policy advisers since President Trump's first term have faced death threats from Iran.
The President of the United States Donald Trump has canceled the security of Mike Pompeo, Brian Hook and John Boltonhawkish foreign policy advisers who served during his first term in office.
The New York Times broke the news on Thursday about Trump removing immunity from Pompeo, the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
According to unnamed sources familiar with the matter, Trump's order took effect on Wednesday at 11pm Eastern Time (04:00 GMT, Thursday), stripping Pompeo and Hook, a former top aide, of their security.
This 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 defended the decision, calling Bolton “a very dumb person”.
“We do not have security for people throughout their lives. Why should we?” Trump said.
But prosecutors point out that Bolton, Pompeo and Hook were all killed threats from Iran.
The three leaders have been at odds with Iran throughout their foreign policy careers. Some experts are wondering if Trump's decision to remove their national security information could be a way to get back at people who are seen as unscrupulous.
An aide to former President Joe Biden confirmed to The Associated Press, anonymously, that Trump's team is well aware of the threats against the three men.
That person called Trump's decision “very irresponsible”.
Bolton angered Trump with his public criticism of him later released as national security adviser in 2019. He has served under previous Republican presidents including George W Bush and Ronald Reagan.
In his books, Bolton has written disparagingly about the Trump administration. “The overwhelming majority shows that Trump is unfit to be president,” Bolton said.
Pompeo, meanwhile, has not voiced his opposition, but he briefly toyed with the 2024 presidential election, before low numbers dashed his hopes. He continued to campaign for Trump in 2024.
During Trump's first term, from 2017 to 2021, Pompeo and Hook were the organizers of the US's “toughest” approach to Iran.
At that time it became known that the US had gone out of its way to reduce Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons in order to get relief from the sanctions. US sanctions.
It is unclear whether Trump will follow a similar path in his second term.
But some analysts think that Trump's inner circle has been more critical of interventionists, who are encouraged by the likes of Bolton and Pompeo.
Trump had said that Pompeo would not participate in his administration. This week, he also announced on television that Hook had been removed from his presidential appointment at the Wilson Center, a think tank.
Former law enforcement officials who signed a letter in 2020 saying Hunter Biden's laptop case contained signs of “Russian activity” had their security clearances revoked in recent days.