GREENBELT, Maryland — John Bolton, the former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury in Maryland.
The 26-page indictment charges Bolton with 18 counts related to the retention and transmission of national defense information.
The charges come after FBI agents conducted a surprise raid of Bolton’s home in Bethesda, Maryland, and his office in Washington on Aug. 22.
The search warrant affidavits, which authorized federal agents to search for classified records, mentioned two sections of the Espionage Act, as well as a statute dealing with the retention or removal of classified information. They also referenced a hack of Bolton’s AOL account by a foreign entity, but the details in that section of the document were redacted.
Bolton’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, has maintained his client’s innocence and said Thursday in response to the indictment that the case was investigated and resolved years ago.
“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,” Lowell said. He added that keeping a diary, as other public officials have, “is not a crime. We look forward to proving once again that Amb. Bolton did not unlawfully share or store any information.”
MSNBC saw Bolton, 76, leaving his home in an SUV early Thursday.
The former national security adviser — who also served in the George W. Bush administration — became a vocal critic of Trump after Trump fired him in 2019.
He is the third of Trump’s detractors to be charged with federal crimes in the last few weeks. Grand jurors in Virginia indicted former FBI Director James Comey, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of lying to and obstructing Congress; and Letitia James, the New York attorney general, on charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. James denies the charges and is due in court next week.
Both of those investigations received pushback from career federal prosecutors who felt there was insufficient evidence to bring charges. Those cases were brought instead by Lindsey Halligan, formerly one of Trump’s own lawyers, shortly after she was installed as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia despite never having worked as a prosecutor.
Bolton’s case, however, which began under the Biden administration, has been different.
Longtime career prosecutor Kelly Hayes, who is now the acting U.S. attorney for Maryland, told Justice Department colleagues last week that she believed there is reasonable basis to pursue charges against Bolton, according to sources familiar with the case. And while Halligan presented the Comey and James cases to grand jurors by herself, the Maryland grand jury met with at least one long-serving career prosecutor, Tom Sullivan, who leads the office’s national security unit. Sullivan, who has been with the Justice Department since 2009, has served in multiple districts as well as at DOJ headquarters and the Senate Judiciary Committee. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang, who was appointed by President Barack Obama. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Lisa Rubin is an MS NOW legal correspondent and a former litigator. Previously, she was the off-air legal analyst for “The Rachel Maddow Show” and “Alex Wagner Tonight.”
Fallon Gallagher is a legal affairs reporter for MS NOW. Recommended
