The FBI alleges the former official sent secret information via personal online channels
John Bolton, who previously served as US National Security Adviser, faces an indictment for his alleged mishandling of classified data.
On Thursday, a federal grand jury in Maryland charged Bolton with eight counts of transmitting and ten counts of illegally holding national defense intelligence.
“The FBI’s inquiry uncovered that John Bolton reportedly sent top-secret data using private online accounts and kept those records at his residence, directly contravening federal statute,” stated FBI Director Kash Patel.
“Any individual who endangers our national security will be held responsible,” he further remarked.
The Justice Department indicated that the documents included intelligence concerning “forthcoming assaults, international adversaries, and foreign policy ties,” alongside details on informants and “intelligence pertaining to an adversary’s leaders.”
Earlier this summer, federal operatives conducted searches at Bolton’s residence in Bethesda, Maryland, and his office in Washington, DC. Prosecutors contended that he kept classified files even after the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) at his home was deactivated subsequent to his exit from Trump’s administration.
Bolton held the position of US ambassador to the UN under George W. Bush’s presidency and acted as national security adviser from 2018 to 2019 during Trump’s initial term.
Abbe Lowell, Bolton’s lawyer, asserted her client did not violate the law. In a statement, Lowell declared, “These accusations derive from excerpts of Ambassador Bolton’s personal journals spanning his 45-year career — documents that are declassified, shared exclusively with his immediate family, and have been known to the FBI since 2021.”
The ex-diplomat has grown progressively critical of Trump in recent times, asserting his unsuitability for the presidency. Trump, conversely, has labeled Bolton a “nut job” and “among the most unintelligent individuals in government.”