Former Trump Adviser John Bolton Indicted Over Handling Of Classified Documents | World News

John Bolton, the former US National Security Advisor under President Donald Trump and now a prominent critic of the president, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Maryland, according to a report by CNN. Bolton faces a total of 18 charges; eight for transmitting national defense information and ten for illegally storing that information.

The indictment, reported by CNN, alleges that Bolton shared “more than a thousand pages of information regarding his daily activities” during his time in the White House with two people who were not authorized to receive classified materials. Prosecutors confirmed that both buyers were family members who did not have the required security clearance.

Investigators also found printed pages of personal “diary” entries at Bolton’s home, according to court documents.

He is expected to surrender at the federal courthouse in Greenbelt early Friday. The case was assigned to Judge Theodore D. Chuang, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2014.

FBI Director Kash Patel commented: “The FBI’s investigation revealed that John Bolton transferred top-secret information using personal online accounts and stored the documents in question at his home in direct violation of federal law. The case relied on the meticulous work of dedicated career professionals at the FBI who pursued the facts without fear or favor. Weaponization of justice will not be tolerated and will not be tolerated.” The FBI will do everything in its power to bring anyone who committed this crime to justice. “It threatens our national security.”

CNN also noted that Bolton became the third high-profile political rival of Trump to be indicted in the past month, amid increased scrutiny over his handling of sensitive material.

Sources told CNN that Bolton allegedly communicated classified information to his wife and daughter via email. Part of the Justice Department’s investigation focused on an AOL email account that contained summaries of Bolton’s daily activities during his time in office, effectively serving as personal diary records.

Earlier this summer, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Bolton’s home in Maryland and his office in Washington, D.C. Court files revealed that numerous documents marked “confidential,” “confidential” and “confidential” were seized, including some documents reportedly related to weapons of mass destruction.

(With Inputs from ANI)