Bolton Should Withdraw Candidacy
State Department Admits He Answered Questionnaire Untruthfully

Washington DC -- Late last night, the State Department reversed its previous statements on John Bolton, announcing that the UN Ambassador nominee did, in fact, meet with the State Department Inspector General to investigate faulty prewar intelligence regarding nuclear materials in Niger. Given the State Department’s admission and the continued questions surrounding his veracity, Citizens for Global Solutions calls on Mr. Bolton to withdraw his name from consideration for UN Ambassador.

The State Department revelations come on the eve of a month-long Congressional break, during which the White House has signaled it will circumvent the Senate and recess appoint Mr. Bolton to the UN post. Bolton’s credibility, however, has been greatly damaged by the following instances:

• He failed to accurately answer his questionnaire despite being under oath;

• The Senate Foreign Relations Committee refused to give him its recommendation, marking only the third time in the past 20 years a nominee has received such a vote of ‘no-confidence’[1]

• The Senate has to date twice refused to vote on his nomination;

Statement by Charles J. Brown, President and CEO of Citizens for Global Solutions

“If Mr. Bolton had any credibility left to lose, he certainly lost it last night. His statements to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee were at best completely inadequate and at worst grossly untruthful. This revelation should be the last straw for this nomination, and should compel him to withdraw his name from consideration. The time has come for President Bush to consider one of the many other candidates for the position that are both more qualified than Mr. Bolton and far less likely to mislead the U.S. Senate.”

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Notes to Editors:
Citizens for Global Solutions launched www.stopbolton.org on March 15, 2005, to illustrate the critical nature of the U.S.-UN relationship, show the need for effective UN reform, and make the case that John Bolton is the wrong man for the job.


[1] The other two nominees were James Hormel – for the post of Ambassador to Luxembourg (1999), and M. Larry Lawrence – for the post of Ambassador to Switzerland (1993).
 

Contact:

Sam Stein
Communications Associate
202 546 3950 ext 123

Don Kraus
Executive Vice President
202 546 3950 ext 103