National Security Advisor John Bolton said during a Wednesday Fox News Radio interview that he is working with White House chief of staff John Kelly to quell the numerous leaks coming from within the Trump administration.
“I think there are a lot of leaks that are coming out that are national security risks,” Bolton declared. “I’m determined to cut them down. I’ve been trying to take steps with the national security staff. It’s something I work with John Kelly the chief of staff with a lot of other people.”
The national security advisor continued to hammer leaks from White House staff saying “the president has to have advisers around him who can have open candid discussions and then not read about him the next day in the newspapers or watch them on television and to the extent that those conversations are being discussed in the public domain.”
“It hurts the ability of the President to be fully informed to make his decision.” (RELATED: Bolton Pushes White House To Eliminate Top Cybersecurity Post)
Bolton’s interview came just hours after White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders similarly went after would be leakers.
“I think it is disgusting and some of the most shameful behavior that you could ever engage. In it’s an honor and privilege to work for the president and to be part of his administration,” she said on Fox News Wednesday. “Anybody who betrays that, I think is a total and complete coward and they should be fired.”
The press secretary added the White House has “fired people over leaking before. I have personally fired people over leaking before. And we certainly would be very willing to do so again.”
Bolton noted however that he remains unbothered about leaks concerning him personally saying “you know, I’ve been exposed to a lot of leaks overtime and it just doesn’t bother me anymore.”
He then appeared to suggest that the source of the leaks had been found, saying “what’s important here is to make sure that that we’ve we found the source of the problem and try and correct it.”
When pressed, Bolton demurred on revealing the source’s identity.
“We’re trying to I think that’s the that’s the objective is to is to try and minimize them as always some amount of this,” he explained. “We need to minimize it to the extent possible.”