Topline
President Donald Trump’s former national security advisor, John Bolton, was indicted Thursday in Maryland, where he is being investigated for the potential mishandling of classified documents — becoming the third political foe of Trump indicted in recent weeks.
Former National Security Adviser John Bolton speaks at a panel at the Willard InterContinental Hotel on August 17, 2022 in Washington, DC.
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Key Facts
The criminal charges come after FBI agents searched Bolton’s home and office in August, reportedly as part of a broader investigation into whether Bolton possessed or shared classified information.
Top DOJ officials had reportedly been pressuring prosecutors to swiftly bring charges against Bolton, despite protestations from prosecutors that it would be better to wait in order to build a stronger case, though CNN reports they’ve since dropped those concerns.
Bolton’s attorney Abbe Lowell has maintained Bolton did not unlawfully possess any classified materials, saying prior to Bolton’s charges that any documents in his possession with classified markings are from the George W. Bush administration and no longer classified, and the documents “had been previously approved as part of a pre-publication review for Amb. Bolton’s book.”
When informed of Bolton’s indictment by reporters Thursday, Trump said, “I think he’s a bad person. I think he’s a bad guy, yeah, he’s a bad guy. It’s too bad but that’s the way it goes.”
Chief Critic
“These are the kinds of ordinary records, many of which are 20 years old or more, that would be kept by a 40-year career official who served at the State Department, as an Assistant Attorney General, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and the National Security Advisor,” Lowell previously said about documents in Bolton’s possession, prior to the ex-official facing charges. “An objective and thorough review will show nothing inappropriate was stored or kept by Amb. Bolton.”
Surprising Fact
Other charges recently brought against Trump enemies James Comey and Letitia James have faced criticism from career prosecutors, who have refused to sign on to the indictments amid reported concerns there’s insufficient evidence to justify the cases. (The charging documents have instead solely been signed by U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, a former Trump defense attorney who was appointed to lead the Eastern District of Virginia with no prosecutorial experience.) The charges against Bolton do not face the same concerns, however, with multiple sources reporting career prosecutors believe the case against the former national security advisor has more merit. The FBI’s criminal investigation into Bolton reportedly began during the Biden administration and was at least partially based on information found when the government discovered Bolton’s personal email had been hacked by an unnamed foreign government. That hack was cited in court filings regarding the FBI’s search of Bolton’s home and office, but all details about the incident have been redacted.
Key Background
Bolton is a conservative national security expert who previously served as the ambassador to the United Nations during the Bush administration before joining the first Trump administration as national security advisor from 2018 to 2019. He became an outspoken Trump critic after leaving the administration, and published a book criticizing the president in 2020, which the first Trump administration unsuccessfully tried to block. The book made a number of explosive claims against Trump, including that he lacked basic foreign policy knowledge, gave “personal favors to dictators he liked” and told Chinese President Xi Jinping he thought building internment camps for the country’s Uighur population was “exactly the right thing to do.” Bolton has continued to speak out against Trump more recently, updating the introduction of his book before the 2024 election to warn “Trump is unfit to be president” and that the president’s “retribution” campaign against his enemies “will consume much of his second term.” The FBI’s raid of Bolton’s office and residence came shortly after Bolton had ramped up his criticism of how Trump was handling the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, suggesting the president had made “mistakes” and taken steps that had “emboldened” Russia. Trump—who already ordered Bolton’s security detail to be revoked in January—attacked Bolton on Truth Social in response, calling him “really dumb.”
News Peg
Bolton’s criminal charges come after the Trump administration recently indicted two other longtime Trump adversaries, former FBI director Comey and New York Attorney General James, on federal charges in Virginia. The charges against Comey center on allegations he lied to Congress in 2020, while the case against James is based on allegations she defrauded her mortgage lender by falsely claiming a property was a secondary residence instead of a rental property. Comey has pleaded not guilty to the charges and James has denied the allegations against her, and legal experts have broadly doubted the strength of both those cases. Trump has long promised “retribution” against his political enemies, but Comey and James’ indictments had marked the clearest steps his administration has taken on that thus far. In addition to Comey, James and Bolton, the administration is also reportedly pursuing investigations against such Trump critics as Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., billionaire Democratic donor George Soros and his foundation, former CIA Director James Brennan and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.