text: The Justice Department dropped its criminal inquiry of Bolton in June 2021 and moved to end efforts to confiscate proceeds from his book. In a 2023 edition of his memoirs, Bolton criticizes Trump as a man who punishes "personal enemies and appease[s] adversaries Russia and China".
  Political positions
  He declared himself in an interview with Edward Luce of the Financial Times in 2007 to be a "Goldwater conservative", as opposed to being a neoconservative. He also pointed out that he was a follower of Edmund Burke. He also said "I have always been a conservative. The idea of big-government conservatism has more neocon adherents than from unmodified conservatives."
  Unilateralism and Americanism
  Americanism is Bolton's core belief, according to The New York Times:
  Bolton is skeptical of international organizations and international law, believing them to endanger American sovereignty, and does not believe they have legitimate authority under the U.S. Constitution. He criticized the Obama administration's foreign policy for what he perceived as surrendering U.S. sovereignty. He also prefers unilateralism over multilateralism. In a 2000 article in the Chicago Journal of International Law, Bolton described himself as a "convinced Americanist", favoring it over what he described as "globalism". In his roles in the U.S. government, however, Bolton has been more pragmatic in his actions toward international organizations, though according to Foreign Policy, he effectively advanced his views on this subject during his tenure in the Trump Administration.