- Title: Trump picks hostage negotiator O'Brien for top security job
- Date: 18th September 2019
- Summary: STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN (FILE - AUGUST 1, 2019) (REUTERS) U.S. DIPLOMAT ROBERT O'BRIEN LEAVING A$AP ROCKY'S TRIAL COURTROOM, GETTING INTO CAR STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN (FILE - AUGUST 2, 2019) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY FOR HOSTAGE AFFAIRS, ROBERT C. O'BRIEN, SAYING: "First I want to let you know that this is a great day for Rocky, Vladimir and David. I had the chance to visit them while they were in jail. They showed a lot of grace, a lot of dignity and I think for those of you who watched the trial you saw that and you saw their demeanour in court. You saw how well they performed under very trying circumstances over the past month. So I'm proud of all, all three of them. I just got off the phone with President of the United States and let him know that the men were coming home and would be back in America soon."
- Embargoed: 2nd October 2019 17:12
- Keywords: Robert O'Brien U.S. national security advisor hostage negotiator Republican replacing John Bolton Trump
- Location: STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
- City: STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
- Country: USA
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001AX6RC5J
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday (September 18) picked U.S. hostage negotiator Robert O'Brien as national security adviser, replacing hardliner John Bolton who was fired abruptly last week after clashing with the president on a host of issues.
O'Brien, who will be the fourth person to hold the post in the Trump administration, has served as Trump's special envoy for hostage affairs at the U.S. Department of State since May 2018 and has a long history in Republican foreign policy circles.
"I have worked long & hard with Robert. He will do a great job!" Trump wrote on Twitter.
Trump fired Bolton after disagreements over handling foreign policy matters relating to North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia and Venezuela.
O'Brien is an attorney from Los Angeles who has served as a foreign policy adviser to several Republican presidential campaigns, handled a number of high-profile legal cases and previously served in several State Department positions, including as an alternative representative to the U.N. General Assembly in 2005.
Trump recently dispatched O'Brien to Sweden for the court hearing of U.S. rapper A$AP Rocky, who was later convicted for assault.
Senate Republicans praised Trump's pick as a solid choice.
"He understands the world for the dangerous place it is. He's got great negotiating skills as our hostage negotiator," Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters. "He'll be a very sound policy adviser."
John Barrasso, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations panel, told Fox News: "He will do a fine job."
The president's previous national security advisers were H.R. McMaster, who was replaced by Bolton in March 2018, and Michael Flynn, who was fired shortly after taking the role and later pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.
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