A federal grand jury indicted former national security adviser John Bolton on charges of transmitting and retaining national defense information, bringing another criminal case against a critic of President Trump.
Prosecutors allege that, beginning in April 2018 until at least August this year, Bolton “abused his position” as national security adviser to share more than a thousand pages of information about his daily activities in the role with two unauthorized individuals, both of whom were “related” to him and never held security clearances.
The information included details classified as top secret and related to the national defense and was sent to the individuals in “diary-like entries” through non-governmental messaging apps and email accounts, according to the 26-page indictment.
“At no point did Bolton have authorization to store or transmit the classified information that he sent to Individuals 1 and 2 via his personal electronic devices and accounts,” the charging papers read. “Nor did, at any time, individuals 1 and 2 have authorization to know or store the classified information that Bolton gave to them.”
In July 2021, a representative for Bolton notified the FBI that one of his personal accounts was believed to have been hacked by Iran.
The apparent hacker allegedly wrote to Bolton and his representative that the hack “could be the biggest scandal since Hillary (Clinton)’s emails were leaked, but this time on the GOP side,” according to the indictment.
Bolton faces eight transmission counts and 10 retention counts. He’s is the third of Trump’s adversaries to face criminal charges in recent weeks as the Justice Department follows through on the president’s vows for retribution against his foes.
In a statement, the former national security adviser professed his innocence, saying he has devoted his life to America’s foreign policy and national security and would “never compromise those goals.” He called himself the “latest target” of Trump’s efforts to “charge those he deems to be his enemies.”
“These charges are not just about his focus on me or my diaries, but his intensive effort to intimidate his opponents, to ensure that he alone determines what is said about his conduct,” Bolton said. “Dissent and disagreement are foundational to America’s constitutional system, and vitally important to our freedom. I look forward to the fight to defend my lawful conduct and to expose his abuse of power.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi said that there’s “one tier of justice for all Americans” and that anyone who abuses their power or jeopardizes national security will be held to account.
“No one is above the law,” she said.
Bolton’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement that the underlying facts in the case were investigated and resolved “years ago,” stemming from portions of his personal diaries that spanned his 45-year career and were unclassified, shared only with his immediate family and known to the FBI as early as 2021.
“Like many public officials throughout history, Amb. Bolton kept diaries – that is not a crime,” Lowell said.
The indictment was handed up by the grand jury foreperson, a middle-aged woman, late Thursday afternoon during a brief proceeding at the federal courthouse in Greenbelt, Md.
Prosecutors also gave the magistrate judge a red folder containing additional documents. The judge quietly reviewed them before adjourning.
Thomas Sullivan, the case’s lead prosecutor, as he left the courthouse declined to comment to reporters beyond saying, “stay posted.”
U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang, an appointee of former President Obama, has been randomly assigned to oversee the case.
The FBI searched Bolton’s home and office in August, and agents were seen leaving both sites with a number of boxes. Even amid the search of his home, Bolton was posting on social media his criticism about Trump’s handling of Ukraine and Russia.
An affidavit later unsealed in court showed the FBI suspected Bolton of improperly keeping national defense information related to his memoir, “The Room Where It Happened,” over which the Trump administration spent years feuding with him.
The indictment comes days after New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) was indicted on charges stemming from mortgage fraud allegations, and last month, former FBI Director James Comey was hit with two counts over 2020 testimony he gave before Congress.
Comey has pleaded not guilty, and while James has not yet entered a plea, she called the charges “baseless” in a statement and vowed to fight them.
Unlike those cases, which are being brought in Virginia under Lindsey Halligan, Trump’s handpicked interim U.S. attorney, Bolton’s indictment was returned in Maryland, where he lives.
Updated at 6:55 p.m. EDT
