Bolton says White House blocking him from using his Twitter account

Former national security adviser John Bolton accused the White House on Friday of holding his personal Twitter account hostage for more than six weeks and suggested on his restored account that the Trump administration might be concerned about information he could share with his followers.

Bolton returned to the platform with a series of cryptic tweets promising "the backstory" on his social media absence. He said nothing about whether he might testify or otherwise provide information for the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.

"We have now liberated the Twitter account, previously suppressed unfairly in the aftermath of my resignation as National Security Advisor," he wrote.

"Since resigning as National Security Advisor, the @WhiteHouse refused to return access to my personal Twitter account. Out of fear of what I may say? To those who speculated I went into hiding, I'm sorry to disappoint!"

A senior administration official denied Bolton's claim but did not elaborate.

"The White House did not block Mr. Bolton from accessing his personal Twitter account, and wouldn't have the technical means to do so," said the official, who requested anonymity to discuss a former employee.

Trump denied any such action during a morning call-in interview on Fox News's "Fox & Friends" after host Brian Kilmeade asked him, "Did you guys freeze his account?"