Journalist Glenn Greenwald resurrected one of John Bolton’s most infamous comments about whistleblower Edward Snowden on Friday, responding to the former Trump national security adviser’s guilty plea in a classified information case with a call that he “get the noose.”

Bolton pleaded guilty in federal court earlier in the day to a felony charge of unlawfully retaining sensitive national security information, admitting before a judge that he had stored classified material in an unsecured manner that put the United States at risk.

Greenwald rose to prominence after publishing a trove of National Security Agency documents in 2013 alongside filmmaker Laura Poitras that had been leaked by Snowden, then an NSA contractor.

Bolton’s case, however, prompted Greenwald to revisit the Republican’s past suggestion that the only suitable punishment for Snowden was to hang and contrasted that rhetoric with Bolton’s own conviction

“John Bolton once called for Edward Snowden’s execution. He even fantasized how, saying Snowden ‘ought to swing from a tall oak tree,'” Greenwald wrote on X: “Bolton is now a convicted felon for mishandling classified information: not to inform the public but to profit off a book. Get the noose.”

John Bolton once called for Edward Snowden’s execution. He even fantasized how, saying Snowden “ought to swing from a tall oak tree.”

Bolton is now a convicted felon for mishandling classified information: not to inform the public but to profit off a book. Get the noose. https://t.co/vGUP1xVD21

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) June 26, 2026

“Sentencing for Bolton’s felonies is scheduled for October 28. Although the plea deal calls for a $2.25 million fine and up to 60 months in prison, the federal judge – as he warned Bolton – is free to sentence him how the law permits,” Greenwald wrote in a further tweet.

“My recommendation,” he added, sharing a decade-old video of Bolton on Fox News making the statement

Sentencing for Bolton’s felonies is scheduled for October 28. Although the plea deal calls for a $2.25 million fine and up to 60 months in prison, the federal judge — as he warned Bolton — is free to sentence him how the law permits. My recommendation:pic.twitter.com/BC6YNHrUVO

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) June 26, 2026

In a third post, subtweeting a post that showed Bolton railing against President Donald Trump’s indictment on mishandling classified information, Greenwald described the moment as “karmic justice”:

Snowden’s disclosures exposed sweeping U.S. and U.K. surveillance programs, igniting a global debate over privacy, government secrecy and national security. The leaks revealed mass collection of phone metadata, secret surveillance programs involving major technology companies, and extensive intelligence gathering targeting foreign leaders.

Snowden was later charged under the Espionage Act and remains in exile in Russia.

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