Nothing sticks to John Bolton

So let me get this straight. Top Iran critic, former Trump National Security Advisor, John Bolton, has successfully cut a deal on spying-related charges with the US government for $2.25 million and to have any prison time capped at five years max – after Iran got ahold of a treasure trove of top secret intelligence thanks to him? And is confident that a judge would just go along with it?

On Friday, a federal grand jury’s initial 18 charges against Bolton for unlawful transmission and retention of national defense information under the Espionage Act were whittled down to a guilty plea on a single count of illegal retention – which the feds have apparently agreed to blow off in exchange for a couple of million dollars from Bolton and maybe a little bit of prison time… or not. Don’t try this at home, kids. Unless you’re sufficiently connected to the permanent neocon Washington establishment.

It’s now up to a judge, sometime later this Fall, to decide whether Bolton will even have to do any hard time that normally accompanies such a conviction. But the plea deal is an attempt to largely put that judge in front of a fait accompli.

Look, I hate to kick a guy when he’s down. Because it’s clear that Bolton’s career has really suffered. He’s still all over every major news network despite – or maybe because of – this plea having been announced earlier this month and now finalized. Or maybe it’s his predictable willingness to slam his former boss, Trump, although Trump’s screwups since getting into war with Iran alongside Israel have largely eliminated Iran as a wedge issue between neocon critics and many of his supporters.

Bolton has been front and center, proclaiming Trump’s dealings with Iran have been disastrous, how he’s given them the upper hand, and how handing them control over the Strait of Hormuz would be a big screwup. Because in Bolton’s neocon world, the US controls the planet and dictates outcomes. Every other country is just a non-playable character.