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 handling of classified information.
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, according to 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. (RELATED: Here’s How James Comey Hopes To Stop His Case From Going To Trial)
Under former President Joe Biden, the Department of Justice (DOJ) dropped a probe in 2021 concerning potential illegal disclosure of classified information in his 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.
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.
