Former U.S. national security adviser John Bolton pleaded not guilty to charges of mishandling classified information by sharing it on a private email server.
Bolton made his first appearance in court on Friday, one day after a federal grand jury indicted him in Maryland on 18 counts of illegally hoarding or sending national security information. He faces up to ten years in prison for each count of the indictment.
When U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy Sullivan asked Bolton to register a plea, Bolton responded firmly: “Not guilty.” Bolton was released on his own recognizance.
“There is one tier of justice for all Americans,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “Anyone who abuses a position of power and jeopardizes our national security will be held accountable. No one is above the law.”
The indictment came two months after federal agents raided Bolton’s home and Washington, D.C., office to find evidence for the case.
Bolton worked for President Trump during his first term and subsequently became a frequent Trump critic. He is the third prominent opponent of Trump’s to be indicted in recent weeks, following former FBI Director James Comey and Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Federal authorities accuse Bolton of using his private email to send sensitive national security documents to unauthorized individuals and unlawfully retaining documents and notes from his time as national security adviser.
He allegedly sent more than 1,000 pages of classified information to people, including top-secret national defense information.
“The FBI’s investigation revealed that John Bolton allegedly transmitted top secret information using personal online accounts and retained said documents in his house in direct violation of federal law,” said FBI Director Kash Patel.
“The case was based on meticulous work from dedicated career professionals at the FBI who followed the facts without fear or favor. Weaponization of justice will not be tolerated, and this FBI will stop at nothing to bring to justice anyone who threatens our national security.”
The indictment alleges that Bolton regularly sent “diary-like entries” to the individuals containing classified information.
Bolton crafted the entries by transcribing handwritten notes from his workday and emailing them to the unnamed individuals. On other occasions, Bolton emailed classified information with an AOL or Google account, the indictment details.
Federal prosecutors included the dates Bolton transmitted classified information, document descriptions, and the classification level of the information in the indictment.
In a statement, Bolton adamantly denied the charges and accused Trump of weaponizing the federal government against him.
“Now, I have become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he deems to be his enemies with charges that were declined before or distort the facts,” Bolton said.
“When my e-mail was hacked in 2021, the FBI was made fully aware. In four years of the prior administration, after these reviews, no charges were ever filed. Then came Trump 2 who embodies what Joseph Stalin’s head of secret police once said, ‘You show me the man, and I’ll show you the crime,'” he added.
“These charges are not just about his focus on me or my diaries, but his intensive effort to intimidate his opponents, to ensure that he alone determines what is said about his conduct. Dissent and disagreement are foundational to America’s constitutional system, and vitally important to our freedom. I look forward to the fight to defend my lawful conduct and to expose his abuse of power,” Bolton said.
In court papers last month, the FBI said its search of Bolton’s office led to the discovery of folders labeled “confidential” and “secret.” Federal agents found materials related to weapons of mass destruction, the U.S. mission to the United Nations, and the U.S. government’s strategic communications.
Bolton’s attorney, Abbe D. Lowell, told Politico that the records were cleared for use, and many of them were decades old.
“These materials, many of which are documents that had been previously approved as part of a pre-publication review for Amb. Bolton’s book, were reviewed and closed years ago,” Lowell said.
Lowell is best known for representing Hunter Biden and disgraced former Senator Bob Menendez (D., N.J.).
The indictment says federal agents retrieved classified equipment and materials in Bolton’s home SCIF (sensitive compartmented information facility) when they raided his residence.
An FBI affidavit for the search of Bolton’s home alleged his private email was hacked by a foreign entity and used to share classified information. The heavily redacted affidavit was released by a judge at the request of several media organizations.
The indictment says a “cyber actor” believed to be tied to Iran hacked Bolton’s private email at some point after he left government. The hacker gained access to the classified information in Bolton’s email account. Although Bolton’s representative notified the government of the hack, the indictment alleges that the person did not tell the government Bolton’s account had classified information.
The Biden administration’s Justice Department previously investigated Bolton for potentially mishandling classified information in connection with his tell-all book. The probe did not result in any charges.
Ellen Knight, a career national security council staffer and classification expert, cleared Bolton’s book ahead of publication after a lengthy review process. Knight previously alleged the first Trump administration attempted to pressure her into falsely claiming Bolton’s book, The Room Where It Happened, contained classified information. The Trump White House’s push to suppress Bolton’s book failed and it was published in June 2020.
B0lton’s book portrayed Trump as an incompetent, media-obsessed individual unfit to hold the presidency. On many occasions, Bolton has appeared on cable networks to make similar criticisms.
Bolton is a lifelong foreign policy hawk and proponent of regime change in various countries. He previously served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush.
His hard-line stance on Iran, which proved influential in the first Trump administration, made Bolton the subject of an Iranian assassination plot in 2021. Bolton was one of several Trump officials targeted by Iranian operatives seeking retaliation for the killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in 2020. Nevertheless, Trump removed Bolton’s Secret Service detail upon returning to office.