Giuliani and Bolton Battle Over Who’s More Destructive

Paolo Aguila/ZUMA

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

One of the major revelations from Fiona Hill’s testimony before House investigators on Monday reportedly centered on former national security adviser John Bolton and his increasing alarm over the aggressive efforts of Rudy Giuliani and EU ambassador Gordon Sondland to pressure Ukraine into investigating President Donald Trump’s domestic political enemies. Hill, who was formerly Trump’s top Russia adviser, told lawmakers that Bolton eventually became so disturbed with the back-channel policymaking that he instructed her to notify White House lawyers.

“Giuliani’s a hand grenade who’s going to blow everybody up,” Hill quoted Bolton, the infamous warmonger, telling her one day.

That colorful description is apparently not sitting well with Giuliani. The two men are now engaging in a name-calling war of words over who is more destructive:

It’s a tough choice. But between Bolton, who historically believed that war is the answer to every international squabble, and Giuliani, the president’s unhinged personal lawyer who is reportedly now under investigation in connection to the Ukraine scandal, we’ll give a momentary victory to the person who has suddenly emerged as a potential key witness in Democrats’ push to bring down Donald Trump.

We were built for times like these

Russian bots are impersonating us. Trump and his allies want to silence us. AI wants to (and does!) steal our content. The list goes on. But with 50 years of experience, we know we were built for this moment: We’re ready to keep diving deep and uncovering the truth, then getting that to you right here, completely accessible and never behind a paywall.

While our work is free to read, watch, and listen to online, it’s incredibly costly to make. Court documents, travel, research: It all adds up. Because we’re a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on reader support to fund our investigations. Will you stand with us in these extraordinary times, as headlines clamour for our attention and disinformation is rampant? We can’t get the truth out without you.

We were built for times like these

Russian bots are impersonating us. Trump and his allies want to silence us. AI wants to (and does!) steal our content. The list goes on. But with 50 years of experience, we know we were built for this moment: We’re ready to keep diving deep and uncovering the truth, then getting that to you right here, completely accessible and never behind a paywall.

While our work is free to read, watch, and listen to online, it’s incredibly costly to make. Court documents, travel, research: It all adds up. Because we’re a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on reader support to fund our investigations. Will you stand with us in these extraordinary times, as headlines clamour for our attention and disinformation is rampant? We can’t get the truth out without you.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

INDEPENDENT. BECAUSE OF YOU.

Mother Jones has no billionaires calling the shots—just readers like you making fearless reporting possible

Donate