From security advisor to security threat: John Bolton faces classified documents scandal

A federal grand jury in the state of Maryland has indicted Bolton for the unauthorized possession and sharing of classified U.S. defense materials. If convicted, the staunchly anti-Iran and Republican figure could face up to 80 years in prison.

According to the Times of Israel, the indictment claims that a cyber actor linked to Iran gained access to over 1,000 pages of classified U.S. government documents by hacking Bolton’s email account after he left office.

Prosecutors allege that Bolton kept daily notes from meetings and activities held at the White House and other secure locations, later rewriting and publishing them on his personal computer. The indictment states that these notes contained top-secret information that was also stored on personal devices belonging to him and his family members.

The indictment further alleges that Bolton used personal email accounts to transmit classified materials to others and even shared some of the information in family group chats.

The FBI stated: “Our investigation shows that John Bolton transferred highly classified information through personal accounts and kept copies of sensitive documents at his residence — a direct violation of federal law.”

In a statement, Bolton dismissed the case as part of Donald Trump’s campaign of political revenge, saying:

“These charges aren’t really about my notes; they’re part of Trump’s organized effort to silence his critics.”

Bolton explained that he was writing a book about his time in office and had shared some of the materials with his editor and co-author for that purpose. The former adviser’s book, “The Room Where It Happened,” portrays Trump as unfit for the presidency.

He added that the book had been reviewed and cleared by U.S. security officials before publication, and that no allegations were raised during the Biden administration.

Bolton, once a close ally and vocal defender of Trump before turning into one of his fiercest critics, accused the former president of abusing judicial power for political retaliation, stating:

“He’s a perfect example of Stalin’s secret police chief’s quote: ‘Show me the man, and I’ll find the crime.’”

In response to the news, Donald Trump said: “He’s a bad guy — very bad. Unfortunately, this happened, but it is what it is.”