A prominent former senior adviser to President Donald Trump is disputing his claim that “nobody” knew Iran would target neighboring nations or close the Strait of Hormuz if the U.S. attacked, saying that he personally warned him of those possibilities.

John Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser during his first term, “said that on multiple occasions he brought up scenarios in which Iran was attacked and responded with retaliatory strikes in the Strait of Hormuz and elsewhere,” The Hill reported.

“Well, I know for a fact that he was aware of those potentials. I raised the option of regime change in Iran several times during the time I was national security adviser,” Bolton told CNN.

“If you’re going to embark” on attacking Iran, Bolton added, “you better have answers” to how Iran would respond, “and certainly closing the Strait of Hormuz was always one of them and so were attacks on the Gulf Arab states, particularly their oil infrastructure, so he knew about it in his first term.”

“I find it hard to believe that he forgot about it in the intervening years,” the former Trump NSA said.

“Nobody, nobody, no, no, no,” President Trump said when asked if anyone had told him how Iran would retaliate. “No, the greatest experts, nobody thought they were going to hit – they were – I wouldn’t say friendly countries, they were like neutral. They lived with them for years.”

Trump also said this week that Iran wasn’t “supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East. Those missiles were set to go after them. So they hit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait. Nobody expected that. We were shocked.”

READ MORE: ‘Is Tulsi Next?’ Questions Swirl About Future of National Intelligence Director

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Three top House Democrats have requested the Department of Homeland Security preserve all records concerning longtime Trump ally Corey Lewandowski, a DHS special adviser to outgoing Secretary Kristi Noem. The Democrats have also separately requested that the Inspector General open a review into Lewandowski.

Investigative reporter Scott MacFarlane reported in an exclusive that the three top Democrats on the House Homeland Security, Oversight, and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees alleged Lewandowski, a Special Government Employee, served as a “shadow chief-of-staff” to Noem. They also “alleged Lewandowski might have violated rules and restrictions of designated Special Government Employees.”

“We write with grave concern regarding reports alleging serious misconduct at the highest levels of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS),” reads the letter from the three ranking members to Secretary Noem’s office.

“At the center of these allegations sits Mr. Corey Lewandowski, who continues to use his access to DHS leadership to wield outsized and undue influence over the Department,” they charge. “We demand DHS preserve all communications and internal records concerning Mr. Lewandowski’s role within the Department, as well as the Department’s practices, policies, and procedures related to contracting, personnel, and the handling of classified materials.”

READ MORE: ‘Is Tulsi Next?’ Questions Swirl About Future of National Intelligence Director

“Any deviation from standard record-keeping will be treated as an attempt to hide or destroy evidence,” they warned.

They also “alleged Lewandowski might have violated rules and restrictions of designated Special Government Employees,” MacFarlane reported.

The letter requests a broad range of records, including communications between Lewandowski and DHS personnel, contractors, and advisers regarding personnel, contracting, and other department operations, as well as “all communications between Mr. Lewandowski and personnel associated with the United States DOGE Service.”

Lawmakers are also seeking documents on Lewandowski’s finances, recusals due to potential conflicts of interest, and involvement in DHS decision-making.

READ MORE: White House Scrambles for Damage Control After National Security Official’s Abrupt Exit

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Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s future in the Trump administration is being questioned after her top aide and “closest adviser,” Joe Kent — who served as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center — abruptly resigned in protest against the Iran war on Tuesday.

Trump White House reporter Jake Lahut commented that Kent’s resignation “puts Tulsi in an even more precarious position.”

“Embarrassing for Tulsi,” remarked Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark.

Gabbard’s standing in the administration has at times appeared tenuous, and has been questioned before, including over Iran — the reason Kent quit.

As The Hill reported last June, Gabbard’s “strength and standing within the Trump administration” were coming under question “after the president twice publicly brushed off her testimony that Iran is not close to developing a nuclear weapon, and amid reports of tensions between the two.”

Gabbard’s “anti-war stance” at the time fit in with the “MAGA movement’s aversion to getting the U.S. sucked into foreign conflicts,” although now Trump voters largely support his Iran war.

Gabbard was told by the White House to fire Kent for being a “known leaker,” but “she never did,” according to Fox News’ Aishah Hasnie, citing a senior Trump administration official. Hasnie also reported that Kent “was cut out of” the president’s intelligence briefings “months ago,” and that Kent “has not been part of any Iran planning discussions or briefings at all.”

MS NOW national security contributor Marc Polymeropoulos, a former CIA officer, called Kent’s resignation a “nuke from a true MAGA member,” and commented, the “big question, is Tulsi next?”

Michael V. Hayden Center director Larry Pfeiffer asked, “Over/under on how quickly Gabbard throws Kent under the bus at the hearing tomorrow?” Last year, Pfeiffer called Gabbard “the perfectly dangerous mix of incompetence, narcissism, sycophancy, and malign intent.”

Gabbard is slated to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday and before the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday.

Republican former U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock summed it up, asking, Gabbard “kept on a known leaker in a national security position?”

“Let’s face it,” she added, “Tulsi has been cut out too because she agrees with Kent – or at least always did before Trump flipped his position.”

Far-right political activist Laura Loomer, who at times has had the ear of President Trump, responded to Kent’s resignation by predicting that Gabbard “will resign next.”

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