Bolton slams Trump's pick for counterterrorism director as 'con man'

Former national security adviser John Bolton slammed Sebastian Gorka as a "con man" on Friday, after President-elect picked Gorka to lead counterterrorism efforts in his second term.

“Well, Sebastian Gorka is a con man. I wouldn’t have him in any U.S. government," Bolton told CNN's Kaitlan Collins when asked about the choice. "Fortunately, it’s not the highest position he had been mentioned for. But I don’t think it’s going to bode well for counterterrorism efforts when the [National Security Council's] senior director is somebody like that."

“And this is why, obviously everybody is now focusing on the top jobs,” he said on "The Source" in an interview Friday. “But the questions of who are the deputy secretaries, who are the undersecretaries, and so on, is also going to tell us a lot about who’s actually running the government.” 

His comments came just hours after Trump named Gorka to serve as a deputy assistant to the president and the senior director for counterterrorism. The president-elect praised his former aide as a “tireless advocate for the America First Agenda and the MAGA Movement."

A vocal Trump critic, Bolton has not been shy with his criticism of his former boss's Cabinet and top administration picks.

After the president-elect announced former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as his choice for director of national intelligence, he called the nomination one of the worst ones yet. But once Trump named former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to head the Justice Department (DOJ), he changed his opinion.

“Up until a few hours ago, I would have said that was the worst Cabinet appointment in recent American history," Bolton, a defense hawk, said of Gabbard in an interview on NewsNation's "The Hill" last week. "Of course, since Matt Gaetz’s nomination, he clearly has taken the lead on that score."

Gaetz has since withdrawn from consideration and Trump tapped former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi to serve in the post instead.

During Friday’s interview on CNN, Bolton argued that Gorka’s “education claims” need to be probed and theorized he was selected for the post for showing “fealty” to the president-elect. 

“He needs a full field FBI background investigation about his educational claims and things like that. I think he is a perfect example of somebody who owes his position purely to Donald Trump," Bolton told Collins. "He doesn’t display loyalty. He displays fealty. And that’s what Trump wants."

“He doesn’t want Gorka’s opinions. He wants Gorka to say, ‘Yes, sir,'" he said, adding. "And I am fully confident that’s exactly what will happen no matter what it is Trump says."

The former national security adviser also previously called for investigations into Gaetz and Gabbard before potential confirmation in the Senate.

The Hill has reached out to the Trump transition team for comment.