John Bolton surrenders to authorities after being federally indicted in a classified information investigation
WASHINGTON — John Bolton, who served as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser during his first term, surrendered to authorities Friday after a federal grand jury indicted him alleging he mishandled classified information.
NBC News Bolton was seen leaving his home in Bethesda, Maryland, in a black sports car on Friday morning. He entered District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, just after 8:30 a.m. ET for his first court appearance.
Prosecutors are investigating whether Bolton improperly kept classified materials after leaving the first Trump administration. He is charged with eight counts of transmitting information related to national defense and 10 counts of illegally retaining that information.
the IndictmentThe grand jury in the US District Court for the District of Maryland alleges that Bolton transmitted national defense information using a personal email or messaging application to send sensitive documents classified as top secret. The documents allegedly revealed intelligence about future attacks, foreign adversaries, and foreign policy relationships.
The indictment also alleges that Bolton illegally kept documents containing national defense information inside his home. These documents included intelligence information about adversary leaders as well as information revealing the sources and groups used to obtain data about a foreign adversary.
Bolton denied any wrongdoing in a statement on Thursday and said the accusations were politically motivated. He said Trump sought “revenge” against him during his first term in the White House and continued after he tried to block the publication of Bolton’s book before the 2020 election.
“Now, I have become the latest target to use the Justice Department as a weapon to indict those he considers his enemies on charges that have previously been dismissed or to distort the facts,” Bolton said. He added that the accusations relate to Trump’s “intense efforts to intimidate his opponents, to ensure that he alone determines what is said about his behavior.”
Bolton’s attorney, Abby Lowell, said his client did not break the law.
“The basic facts in this case were investigated and resolved years ago,” Lowell said in a statement. “These accusations stem from portions of Ambassador Bolton’s personal diaries during his 45-year career – records that are unclassified, shared only with his immediate family, and known to the FBI since 2021.”
This case comes after the Justice Department brought charges against two other Trump critics: New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey.