WASHINGTON — John Bolton, who served as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser during his first term, surrendered to authorities Friday after he was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that allege he mishandled classified information.
Bolton was seen by NBC News leaving his home in Bethesda, Maryland, in a black sport utility vehicle Friday morning. He entered the district courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland, just after 8:30 a.m. ET for his initial court appearance.
Prosecutors have been investigating whether Bolton improperly retained classified materials after he left the first Trump administration. He is charged with eight counts of transmission of national defense information and 10 counts of unlawful retention of that information.
The indictment, returned by a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, alleges Bolton transmitted national defense information using personal email or a messaging application to send sensitive documents classified as Top Secret. The documents allegedly revealed intelligence about future attacks, foreign adversaries and foreign-policy relations.
The indictment also alleges that Bolton illegally retained documents containing national defense information within his home. These documents included intelligence on an adversary’s leaders as well as information revealing sources and collections used to obtain statements on a foreign adversary.
Bolton denied any wrongdoing in a statement Thursday and said the charges were politically motivated. He said Trump sought “retribution” against him during his first term in the White House and continued after he tried to block publication of Bolton’s book before the 2020 election.
“Now, I have become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he deems to be his enemies with charges that were declined before or distort the facts,” Bolton said. He added that the charges are about Trump’s “intensive effort to intimidate his opponents, to ensure that he alone determines what is said about his conduct.”
Bolton’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said his client didn’t break the law.
“The underlying facts in this case were investigated and resolved years ago,” Lowell said in a statement. “These charges stem from portions of Amb. Bolton’s personal diaries over his 45-year career — records that are unclassified, shared only with his immediate family, and known to the FBI as far back as 2021.”
The case comes after the Justice Department has brought charges against two other Trump critics: New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey.
Comey was charged with making false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding over testimony in 2020 about a leak to the news media. He has pleaded not guilty.
James was charged with falsely claiming a home in Norfolk, Virginia, was her second residence, allowing her to obtain favorable loan terms that saved her about $50 a month. Like Comey, she has vehemently denied the charges.
Source link
