meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Michael Steele Podcast

A Moment Of Clarity: John Bolton's Indictment: "Sounds an awful lot like Donald Trump's situation."

The Michael Steele Podcast

The Bulwark

Politics, Government, History, News

4.83.1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 October 2025

⏱️ 2 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The legal fight against John Bolton is not just a personal struggle—it's a startling dress rehearsal for the courtroom drama facing President Donald Trump. Michael Steele dissects the bombshell indictments, drawing sharp parallels between the two cases. He explores what this intense battle reveals about the true power of the White House and why dissent is a constitutional necessity in the fight for the rule of law.

Catch Michael Steele on The Weeknight Mondays - Fridays at 7pm EST on MSNBC: https://www.msnbc.com/weeknight

Follow Michael on X: https://x.com/MichaelSteele

Follow Michael on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/michaelsteele.bsky.social

Follow Michael on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chairman_steele/ 

Follow Michael on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@chairman_steele

Listen to The Michael Steele Podcast: https://www.thebulwark.com/s/the-michael-steele-podcast

Watch The Michael Steele Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJNKzTkCZE9uNqPiKYw5eU5YkS_mMsr6o

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

And now for a moment of clarity.

0:05.0

Bolton's very capable Abby Lowe, one of the toughest fighters in the legal game, has denied the validity of this indictment.

0:15.0

So expect a brawl. We don't know if it's for real or not.

0:19.0

You know, Christy, I was listening to your TikTok there as you walk through, as Norm noted,

0:27.2

you know, what's in the indictment and the seriousness of it. And I couldn't help but think it

0:32.9

sounded an awful lot like Donald Trump's situation. And it's very familiar that way, you know, particularly when you talk about, well, you were

0:42.1

told to take the document, return the documents, and when they did a further investigation,

0:47.0

there were documents still there.

0:48.3

Where have we heard that before?

0:50.6

So there is that similarity to it, and it does, in my estimation, set pretty nicely what Norm is referring to as this sort of vindictive prosecution.

1:02.1

You just can't blow past the fact that these things are parallel relative to Trump, and Trump takes them very personally.

1:08.8

But John Bolton did come back with a statement on this, and he's, you know, he's not going down as

1:13.5

just James noted as well without fighting.

1:17.0

He said, quote, these charges are not just about Trump's focus on me or my diaries, but his

1:23.6

intensive effort to intimidate his opponents, to ensure that he alone determines what is said about his conduct.

1:30.8

Descent and disagreement are foundational

1:33.2

to America's constitutional system

1:35.1

and vitally important to our freedom.

1:37.6

I look forward to the fight to defend my lawful conduct

1:41.0

and to expose his abuse of power, which tells me they're going to have a lot of fun

1:47.0

come discovery.

1:48.3

So talk a little bit about that side of this process.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Bulwark, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Bulwark and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.