Former national security adviser John Bolton was charged Thursday in a federal investigation into the potential mishandling of classified information.
The indictment follows an investigation that became public in August when the FBI searched Bolton’s home in Maryland and his office in Washington, D.C., for classified records he may have retained after his tenure in the Trump administration. Bolton served as President Donald Trump’s third national security adviser for over a year before his departure in September 2019.
Details of the Investigation
During the August searches, federal agents seized multiple documents labeled “classified,” “confidential,” and “secret” from Bolton’s office, unsealed court filings show. Some of the seized documents reportedly concerned weapons of mass destruction, national “strategic communication,” and the U.S. mission to the United Nations.
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The current charges stem from an investigation that began prior to Trump’s second term. The case is being filed in Maryland by a career U.S. attorney, contrasting with recent high-profile federal cases against other political figures that were filed in Virginia by a prosecutor appointed by Trump.
History of Classified Information Concerns
Questions about Bolton’s handling of classified information date back several years, specifically concerning his 2020 book, The Room Where it Happened, a critical account of his time in the Trump administration.
The Trump administration asserted that the book’s manuscript contained classified information that could potentially harm national security. Bolton’s lawyers have maintained that he proceeded with publication only after a White House National Security Council official confirmed that the manuscript no longer contained classified information following a months-long review process.
A previously unsealed search warrant affidavit, however, indicated that a National Security Council official had reviewed the book and told Bolton in 2020 that it appeared to contain “significant amounts” of classified information, some at the top-secret level.
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Bolton’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, has stated that many of the documents seized in August had been approved through the pre-publication review process for his book.
Lowell also noted that many records were decades old, accumulated over Bolton’s extensive government career.
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