John Bolton Called Rudy Giuliani ‘a Hand Grenade’: Report
“I am not part of whatever drug deal Rudy and Mulvaney are cooking up,” Bolton was quoted as saying.

Win McNamee/Getty
Former National Security Adviser John Bolton told an aide to alert White House lawyers over the Trump administration’s effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate Democrats, and called President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani “a hand grenade who’s going to blow everybody up,” The New York Times reports. During former Senior Director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs Fiona Hill’s Monday testimony, she reportedly told House investigators that Bolton told her to alert the chief lawyer for the National Security Council that Giuliani was working with Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, on an operation with legal implications. “I am not part of whatever drug deal Rudy and Mulvaney are cooking up,” Bolton told Hill to tell White House lawyers, according to sources familiar with the testimony. The Times reports Bolton said this after he reportedly got into a heated exchange in July with Gordon Sondland, a former Trump donor and current ambassador to the European Union, who reportedly was working with Giuliani to pressure Ukraine for political help.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.