Bolton returns to Twitter after claim of White House freeze

WASHINGTON (AP) - Former national security adviser John Bolton said Friday in a series of cryptic tweets that he's regained control of his personal Twitter account, asserting the White House refused to provide access to it after he resigned in September, a charge President Donald Trump rejected.

Bolton and Trump clashed frequently on foreign policy and the president said the hawkish Bolton did not get along with others in the administration and was out of step with him on policy.

Bolton's actions and words have been closely followed ever since, particularly concerning the House impeachment inquiry. Bolton has declined to testify unless a federal judge determines he can be compelled to testify against the White House's wishes. But his attorney said Bolton was aware of "many relevant meetings and conversations" related to the Ukraine pressure campaign.

Bolton issued a series of tweets Friday that began with him saying he was glad to be back on Twitter and to 'œstay tuned.'ť

A third tweet accused the White House of refusing to return access to the account, asking, 'œOut of fear of what I may say? To those who speculated I went into hiding, I'm sorry to disappoint!'ť

Finally, Bolton thanked Twitter for 'œstanding by their community standards'ť and 'œrightfully returning control'ť of his account.

Twitter declined to comment. Trump was asked on Fox News whether the White House froze Bolton's Twitter account.

'œOf course not. No, I actually had a good relationship with John,'ť Trump said. 'œWe disagreed on some things and some methods, but I actually had a good relationship. No, I didn't do that.'ť