Former National Security Adviser John Bolton was indicted on Thursday.
A federal grand jury in Maryland indicted Bolton, who served during Trump’s first term from April 2018 to September 2019, on 18 counts related to his alleged mishandling of classified information.
“The FBI’s investigation revealed that John Bolton allegedly transmitted top secret information using personal online accounts and retained said documents in his house in direct violation of federal law,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement. “The case was based on meticulous work from dedicated career professionals at the FBI who followed the facts without fear or favor. Weaponization of justice will not be tolerated, and this FBI will stop at nothing to bring to justice anyone who threatens our national security.”
The 26-page indictment alleges Bolton “abused his position as National Security Advisor by sharing more than a thousand pages of information about his day-to-day activities as the National Security Advisor-including information relating to the national defense which was classified up to the TOP SECRET/SCI level-with two unauthorized individuals.”
During his entire time as National Security Advisor, Bolton regularly sent “diary-like” messages and emails to two individuals related to him by “transcribing his handwritten notes from his day’s activities into word processing documents” that he sent electronically, according to the indictment.
A cyber actor “believed to be associated with the Islamic Republic of Iran” hacked Bolton’s email after he left the government and gained access to the classified information. A representative of Bolton informed the government of the attack in July 2021 but did not mention classified national defense information was contained in the account or that he had previously shared the information with two others, the indictment states.
Bolton faces eight counts of transmission of national defense information (NDI) and 10 counts of unlawful retention of NDI.
Documents with “confidential” and “secret” markings were found inside Bolton’s Washington, D.C. office during an Aug. 22 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raid, including some with references to weapons of mass destruction, accordingto a September court filing. Federal agents searched Bolton’s Maryland home that same day but did not find classified materials at the location.
“These materials, many of which are documents that had been previously approved as part of a pre-publication review for Amb. Bolton’s book, were reviewed and closed years ago,” Bolton’s attorney Abbe Lowell said in a statement to Politico in September.
The indictment cites Bolton’s statements to the media illustrating he understands how to properly handle classified information, including his criticism of the Signal group chat leaked in March where Trump administration cabinet leaders discussed foreign policy.
“You simply don’t use commercial means of communication, whether it’s supposedly an encrypted app or not for for these kinds of discussions,” Bolton said in an April interview. “You know, you don’t know where they’re gonna go.”
Under former President Joe Biden, the Department of Justice (DOJ) dropped a probe in 2021 concerning potential illegal disclosure of classified information in Bolton’s memoir. Trump’s DOJ opened the criminal probe and sued Bolton in an effort to block the book’s publication.
Bolton’s book, released in 2020, leveled “scathing” criticism at the Trump administration, characterizing Trump as being primarily concerned with reelection.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said there “is one tier of justice for all Americans.”
“Anyone who abuses a position of power and jeopardizes our national security will be held accountable,” she said in a statement. “No one is above the law.”
Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted in September on two counts for allegedly lying to Congress and obstructing a Congressional proceeding. Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted Oct. 9 on allegations of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
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