FACT CHECK: No, John Bolton Was Not Convicted Of Treason And Executed, Claim Is Satire
A post shared on Facebook claims John Bolton, who served as President Donald Trump’s national security advisor from 2018 to 2019, was purportedly convicted of treason and executed at Guantanamo Bay.
Verdict: False
The claim is false and originally stems from a Feb. 6 article published on the satire site “Real Raw News.” A spokesperson for the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps denied the claim’s validity in an email to Check Your Fact.
Fact Check:
Bolton said Trump’s proposal to take over the Gaza Strip would be “very dangerous,” according to The Hill. Bolton made the remark during a recent appearance on CNN’s “The Source with Kaitlan Collins,” the outlet reported.
The Facebook post claims Bolton was purportedly convicted of treason and executed at Guantanamo Bay. According to the same post, Bolton purportedly faced a military tribunal where he allegedly admitted to authoring a fictitious national security document he provided Trump during his first term. Bolton was purportedly hanged as a result of his actions, the post further claims.
The claim is false and originally stems from a Feb. 6 article published on the satire site “Real Raw News.” A “Disclaimer” included on the site’s “About Us” page indicates its content is not meant to be taken literally. “Information on this website is for informational and educational and entertainment purposes. This website contains humor, parody, and satire. We have included this disclaimer for our protection, on the advice [of] legal counsel,” the disclaimer reads. (RELATED: No, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Isn’t Going To The Sue The US For Burnt Down LA House)
The Feb. 6 article is a follow-up piece to a Jan. 24 article published by “Real Raw News” claiming Bolton had purportedly been arrested by U.S. Secret Service agents at his Bethesda, Maryland home. Check Your Fact also debunked that claim.
Likewise, Check Your Fact did not find the claim referenced on the website for Navy JAG or its associated social media accounts. Check Your Fact did not find any credible news reports to support the claim, either.
In addition, Patricia Babb, a spokesperson for Navy JAG, denied the claim’s validity in an email to Check Your Fact.
“This is not true,” Babb said of the claim.
