John Bolton charged in classified information scandal | World | News
Former Trump administration National Security Adviser John Bolton has been charged as part of a federal investigation into the potential mishandling of classified information, according to insider information. The investigation into Mr. Bolton, who served for more than a year in President Donald Trump’s first administration before being fired in 2019, exploded into public view in August when the FBI searched his Maryland home and Washington office for secret records from his years in government.
The existence of the indictment was confirmed by a person familiar with the matter who could not discuss the charges publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. During the search in August, agents seized numerous documents from Mr. Bolton’s office labeled “confidential,” “confidential” and “confidential,” according to previously unsealed court filings.
In the applications, it was stated that some of the seized records were related to weapons of mass destruction, national “strategic communications” and the US mission to the United Nations.
The indictment sets the stage for a closely watched trial that centers on a long-running issue in Republican foreign policy circles, who are known for their hawkish views on American power and have emerged as a prominent and vocal critic of the president after leaving Mr. Trump’s first administration.
Although the investigation leading to the indictment began before Mr. Trump’s second term, the case will unfold against the backdrop of broader concerns that the Justice Department is being weaponized to go after political rivals.
This follows separate indictments last month charging former FBI Director James Comey with lying to Congress and New York Attorney General Letitia James with bank fraud and making false statements; both denied the charges.
Both of those cases were filed in federal court in Virginia by a prosecutor who was hastily appointed to the post after Trump was frustrated that investigations into high-profile foes had not resulted in prosecutions.
The Bolton case, by contrast, was filed by a U.S. attorney in Maryland who served as a career prosecutor in the office before being appointed to that position.
Questions about how Bolton handled classified information go back years. He faced a lawsuit and a Justice Department investigation after leaving office over information in his 2020 book, The Room Where it Happened, that portrayed Mr. Trump as deeply uninformed about foreign policy.
The Trump administration has argued that Bolton’s draft contains classified information that could harm national security if disclosed.
Mr. Bolton’s lawyers said he made progress on the book after a White House National Security Council official with whom Mr. Bolton had been working for months said the draft no longer contained classified information.
A previously sealed search warrant affidavit said a National Security Council official reviewed a draft of the book and told Mr. Bolton in 2020 that the book contained a “significant amount” of classified information, some at a top-secret level.
Mr. Bolton’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in August that most of the documents seized were approved as part of a prepublication review of Mr. Bolton’s book.
Many of them, he said, stem from Mr. Bolton’s long career at the State Department, spanning decades as deputy attorney general and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
The indictment is a dramatic moment in Mr. Bolton’s long career in government. He served at the Justice Department during President Ronald Reagan’s administration and was the State Department’s point man on arms control during George W. Bush’s presidency.
Mr Bolton was nominated by Mr Bush to serve as US ambassador to the United Nations, but the strong supporter of the Iraq war failed to win Senate confirmation and resigned after 17 months as Bush’s recess appointment, Mr Bolton told Express.co.uk on several occasions. This allowed him to hold the office temporarily without Senate confirmation.
Mr. Bolton was appointed in 2018 to serve as Mr. Trump’s third national security adviser. But his brief tenure was characterized by disagreements with the president over North Korea, Iran and Ukraine.
Those disagreements ultimately led to Mr. Bolton’s departure, and Mr. Trump announced on social media in September 2019 that he had accepted Mr. Bolton’s resignation.
Mr. Bolton later criticized Mr. Trump’s approach to foreign policy and government in his 2020 book; This includes Mr. Trump’s claim that providing military aid directly linked the country’s willingness to pursue investigations into Joe Biden, Mr. Trump’s rival in the 2020 Democratic election, and members of his family.
Mr. Trump responded by criticizing Bolton as a “worn-out man” and a “crazy” warmonger who could drag the country into “World War Six.” Mr. Trump also said the book contained “highly classified information” and that Mr. Bolton “did not have approval” to publish it.
