Ex-Trump national security adviser John Bolton indicted on charges of mishandling classified information

Former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to the alleged mishandling of classified documents, according to sources familiar with the case.

The indictment, first reported by CNN and later confirmed by the news agencies. Bolton, who served under President Donald Trump from 2018 until his dismissal in 2019, faces accusations of improperly retaining and handling classified records from his time in government.

The case surfaced in August, when the FBI searched Bolton’s home in Maryland and his office in Washington, DC, as part of the federal investigation. Agents reportedly seized several files marked classified, confidential, and secret, according to court documents unsealed earlier this year.

DOCUMENTS RELATED TO NATIONAL SECURITY

According to those filings, some of the seized materials contained information related to weapons of mass destruction, strategic communications, and the US mission to the United Nations.

The unsealed warrant also revealed that investigators had long questioned whether Bolton unlawfully retained classified documents after leaving office.

The indictment was filed in Maryland by a career federal prosecutor, distinguishing it from other recent high-profile cases involving Trump-era officials that were filed in Virginia by prosecutors seen as politically aligned with Trump’s Justice Department.

TRUMP REACTS TO BOLTON INDICTMENT

Donald Trump appeared surprised when asked about Bolton’s indictment. Speaking to reporters in the White House, he said he had not been informed of the charges before criticising his former adviser, who has been one of his most outspoken critics.

“I think he’s a bad person,” Trump said. “He’s a bad guy.”

The president appeared unfazed, adding, “That’s the way it goes, right?”

Trump and Bolton have shared a long and bitter feud since Bolton’s exit from the White House in 2019. In his memoir, Bolton accused Trump of being reckless and tying military aid to Ukraine to investigations targeting Joe Biden, then a political rival. Trump retaliated by calling Bolton “a washed-up guy” and “a crazy warmonger,” claiming his book contained “highly classified information.”

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