US: Former Trump aide admits he 'helped plan coups' in other countries

Former US national security advisor John Bolton admitted on television Tuesday that he has helped plan coups in other countries while arguing that the January 6, 2021 riot in Washington fell short of such efforts.

The attack on the US Capitol was the result of then-president Donald Trump "just stumbling around from one idea to another," Bolton told CNN's Jake Tapper.

"As somebody who has helped plan coups d'etat, not here, but, you know, other places, it takes a lot of work," he said.

Bolton - who served as Trump's national security advisor from 2018 to 2019 - did not specify which governments he had helped to overthrow, but while in his post, he advocated for US military intervention in Venezuela.

January 6 was "not an attack on our democracy. It's Donald Trump looking out for Donald Trump. It's a once in a lifetime occurrence," said Bolton.

"Ultimately, he did unleash the rioters at the Capitol. As to that, there's no doubt. But not to overthrow the Constitution, to buy more time, to throw the matter back to the states, to try and redo the issue," he added.

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