Former national security adviser John Bolton, who served in the Trump administration, is facing charges for allegedly storing classified records at his residence and sharing diary-like notes with family members that contained sensitive information. The indictment also suggests that classified data was compromised when individuals associated with the Iranian regime hacked Bolton’s email account in 2021.
According to prosecutors, a Bolton representative informed the FBI about the email hack but did not disclose the sharing of classified information through the account or the hackers’ access to such data. The investigation into Bolton, who was dismissed from his position in 2019 after serving for over a year in the Trump administration, became public knowledge when the FBI conducted searches at his home in Maryland and office in Washington, D.C., looking for potentially retained classified documents from his government tenure.
The indictment, filed in federal court in Greenbelt, Md., is expected to lead to a high-profile court case involving a well-known figure in Republican foreign policy circles. Bolton is accused of improperly sharing over 1,000 pages of information about his daily activities as national security adviser with unauthorized individuals, including family members. Furthermore, he is alleged to have kept documents related to national defense, some classified at the top-secret level, at his Maryland residence.
In response, Bolton vehemently denied the charges, attributing them to what he described as a campaign by former President Trump to target his adversaries using the Justice Department. Bolton’s attorney stated that the charges stem from parts of his client’s personal diaries, which were unclassified, shared only with immediate family, and known to the FBI since 2021.
The case against Bolton is unfolding against the backdrop of broader concerns about the potential politicization of the Justice Department. It follows other recent indictments, including those against former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, who both deny the charges brought against them.
While questions about Bolton’s handling of classified information have persisted for years, the current indictment is a significant development in his lengthy government career. Bolton has held various high-level positions, including serving as U.S. ambassador to the UN under President George W. Bush, albeit without Senate confirmation. His tenure as Trump’s national security adviser was marked by disagreements with the president on key foreign policy issues, leading to his resignation in 2019.
The indictment against Bolton signals a dramatic turn in his government career, with implications for his reputation and legacy in U.S. foreign policy circles.
