Tag: john bolton

What an Associate of John Bolton Reportedly Said About Classified Info Fiasco Is Pretty Damning

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton has been indicted on 18 counts relating to a probe regarding the mishandling of classified information. It’s funny how this story died once the media found out they couldn’t weaponize it against President Trump. Bolton is a harsh Trump critic, and this legal fiasco led to the usual ‘the president is going after his enemies’ narrative, which imploded quickly. The ball got rolling on this under Joe Biden’s failed presidency (via DOJ):

A federal grand jury returned an indictment today [Oct. 16] charging former National Security Advisor John Bolton, 76, of Bethesda, Maryland, with serious crimes related to the mishandling of classified information. The indictment charges Bolton with eight counts of transmission of national defense information (NDI) and 10 counts of unlawful retention of NDI. 

“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.” 

“Keeping Americans safe always has been, and always will be, the top priority for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland,” said U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland. “If anyone endangers our national security, we’re committed to holding them accountable.” 

“The FBI is committed to protecting classified information to keep Americans safe. Anyone entrusted with this knowledge takes an oath and has a duty to safeguard it. The charges alleged in this indictment demonstrate there will be consequences for those who violate this responsibility,” said Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. 

The indictment alleges that Bolton illegally transmitted NDI by using personal email and messaging application accounts to send sensitive documents classified as high as Top Secret. These documents revealed intelligence about future attacks, foreign adversaries, and foreign-policy relations. 

Keep reading

Grand jury indicts former national security advisor John Bolton on 18 felony charges

A grand jury delivered an 18-count indictment on Thursday against former national security advisor and Trump critic John Bolton, who has been accused of unlawfully handling classified documents.

The grand jury indictment charged Bolton with 18 felonies, including 10 counts of illegal retention of national defense information. He was also charged with eight counts of transmitting national defense information.

“There is one tier of justice for all Americans,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “Anyone who abuses a position of power and jeopardizes our national security will be held accountable. No one is above the law.”

The federal grand jury convened Wednesday to consider charges against the longtime national security figure two months after the FBI raided his Maryland home and found “highly sensitive national security” information. 

The search warrant for Bolton’s home, dated Aug. 22, showed there were “travel memo documents with pages labeled secret,” as well as “confidential” documents regarding “U.S. Mission to the United Nations,” “U.S. Government Strategic Communications Plan,” and weapons of mass destruction. 

Laptops and other electronics were also seized in the search, Just the News previously reported. 

The FBI also searched Bolton’s Washington, D.C. office. 

Keep reading

DEVELOPING: Incoming Indictment…Grand Jury Considers Charges Against John Bolton

A grand jury on Wednesday convened to consider charges against John Bolton over his mishandling of classified materials.

Trump’s former National Security Advisor John Bolton transmitted classified emails over a private server system and they were intercepted by a hostile foreign country’s spy service, according to a recent leak to The New York Times.

John Bolton is reportedly under investigation for violating the Espionage Act.

The New York Post reported:

A grand jury is convening Wednesday afternoon to consider charges against former national security adviser John Bolton over his alleged sharing of highly sensitive classified materials on a private email server, The Post has learned.

The proceeding comes two months after federal investigators raided Bolton’s Maryland home and Washington, DC, office in search of evidence in the Trump critic’s alleged theft of “highly sensitive national security” information.

Justice Department officials expect an indictment to be handed up either Wednesday or Thursday, with one telling The Post that the case against the 76-year-old is “airtight.”

Bolton is accused of using his private email account to remove sensitive information and record diary-like notes of his daily activities and assessments throughout his time in office, sources told The Post.

New John Bolton documents with classified markings were released after the FBI raided his home in August.

The FBI raided John Bolton’s home over the summer.

Keep reading

Trump’s Former National Security Adviser John Bolton Expected To Face Criminal Charges for Mishandling Classified Information in Coming Days: Report

Prosecutors in Maryland are now widely expected to file criminal charges in the coming days against disgraced former National Security Adviser John Bolton for hoarding and mishandling classified national defense information at his Maryland home.

The bombshell news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing “people familiar with the matter.”

The news outlet reported:

Prosecutors in Maryland are expected in coming days to charge one of Trump’s first-term national security advisers, John Bolton, now a top Trump critic, with mishandling classified information, according to people familiar with the matter.

In Virginia, prosecutors are expected to seek an indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James, who won a civil fraud case against Trump, on mortgage fraud charges that Siebert and others saw as weak, people familiar with the case said. James has denied wrongdoing.

Other prosecutors are investigating former CIA director John Brennan, another prominent Trump critic, and former FBI director Christopher Wray, who was originally appointed by Trump but enraged conservatives who came to believe he had wielded the bureau’s powers against them. Former officials have received subpoenas in recent days in the Wray inquiry, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

Bolton, who has spent attacking Trump on CNN and in his memoir The Room Where It Happened, is accused of keeping notes, classified memos, and digital files that the National Security Council explicitly warned him to return.

Keep reading

FBI says it found classified documents in John Bolton’s DC office

FBI agents executing a search warrant at former national security adviser John Bolton’s downtown Washington office last month turned up documents marked as classified, according to a court filing released Tuesday.

A description of the documents gathered in the Aug. 22 search suggested they included materials that referenced weapons of mass destruction, the U.S. mission to the United Nations and records related to the U.S. government’s strategic communications.

The inventory by an FBI agent doesn’t specify the number of suspected classified documents. But it lists several collections or folders that were labeled “confidential” and some pages marked “secret.” The heading on at least one set marked “confidential” was redacted from the inventory, filed earlier this month in federal court in Washington.

FBI agents also carried out a search warrant the same morning at Bolton’s Bethesda, Maryland, home. The inventory from that search contained no outward indication that classified information was located. However, in both instances, agents reported seizing computers and other electronic devices whose contents were not detailed.

Both search warrant applications indicated FBI agents were seeking evidence related to three felony offenses, including gathering, transmitting or losing national defense information in violation of the Espionage Act and retaining classified information without permission.

In Trump’s first term, Bolton faced a lawsuit claiming he included classified information in a book he wrote after leaving the administration. A federal judge warned publicly that the former White House official’s actions might have been criminal. However, a Justice Department probe did not lead to charges and was eventually dropped under the Biden administration in 2021.

It’s not known when the investigation restarted. Court filings indicate that investigators determined that Bolton’s AOL email account was hacked by a foreign entity, although details of the alleged hack and how the U.S. became aware of it remain unclear.

Redacted court filings related to the Washington search were released by Justice Department lawyers after several news organizations, including POLITICO, filed a formal motion asking for disclosure of the records. DOJ attorneys agreed to make public redacted versions of the inventory, search warrant and accompanying affidavit, but resisted blanket release of the information, citing a need to protect a national security investigation.

Keep reading

John Bolton’s personal email account was hacked by foreign entity, FBI docs reveal

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton allegedly used a private email account that was at one point hacked by a “foreign entity,” an FBI search warrant affidavit released Friday revealed. 

The 41-page document –  used by federal investigators to justify the raid of Bolton’s Maryland home last month – suggests the hacking incident gave the FBI reason to believe the former Trump administration official mishandled classified records. 

The Post previously reported that Bolton allegedly used his personal email account to send “highly sensitive” documents to his family while working in the White House.

“Hack of Bolton AOL Account by Foreign Entity,” reads a section of the affidavit, where investigators explained the probable cause for the searches. 

The roughly 10 pages detailing the hacking incident are completely redacted. It’s unclear which foreign nation may have been responsible. 

Keep reading

Another Narrative Busted: Bolton Investigation Began Under Biden

For several days the media has been saying the Trump administration FBI targeted John Bolton, hence the FBI raid on his home and office.  However, the New York Times now outlines how the investigation into John Bolton began during the Biden administration and picked up speed after they received access to his email information from an “adversarial country’s spy service.”

Apparently, John Bolton used an unclassified email system to send information to his friends and allies.  The emails were intercepted.  Bolton was discussing information that appears to have been the outcome of his access to classified information as National Security Advisor.

CTH has previously outlined how John Bolton’s business model was essentially selling information and influence.  This common DC business model seems to have formed the baseline for him to share sensitive, possibly classified information, of greater value.  This does not come as a surprise.

Selling information is the currency of affluence in Washington DC.  That’s why the removal of security clearances is looked upon as devastating within the beltway.  New York Times story below:

NEW YORK TIMES – The investigation into President Trump’s former national security adviser, John R. Bolton, began to pick up momentum during the Biden administration, when U.S. intelligence officials collected information that appeared to show that he had mishandled classified information, according to people familiar with the inquiry.

The United States gathered data from an adversarial country’s spy service, including emails with sensitive information that Mr. Bolton, while still working in the first Trump administration, appeared to have sent to people close to him on an unclassified system, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive case that remains open.

The emails in question, according to the people, were sent by Mr. Bolton and included information that appeared to derive from classified documents he had seen while he was national security adviser. Mr. Bolton apparently sent the messages to people close to him who were helping him gather material that he would ultimately use in his 2020 memoir, “The Room Where It Happened.”

In a sign of the stakes for Mr. Bolton, he is in talks to retain the high-profile criminal defense lawyer Abbe Lowell. Mr. Lowell, who has represented Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Mr. Biden’s son Hunter, is defending two other prominent perceived enemies of Mr. Trump who are now under scrutiny: the New York state attorney general, Letitia James, and Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board. (read more)

At the time of the raid, we noted the activity of Bolton mirrors that of former Senator John McCain (now dead). “An FBI investigation under the auspices of potential violations of the Espionage Act, where Bolton would have leveraged current or prior classified intelligence information as part of his influence business.

Almost identically to former Senator John McCain, John Bolton was well known to intersect with the nation of Qatar as part of his operation.  Qatar has deep pockets and a long-identified influence operation throughout the Middle East, sometimes playing both sides. Qatar is also the playground for the CIA.

While it is yet unknown which nation and which activity Bolton was likely engaged in, the highest probability centers around the deepest pockets, which would also put Bolton on the CIA radar.

Keep reading

John Bolton Transmitted Classified Emails Over Private Server… and They Were Intercepted by Hostile Foreign Country’s Spy Service

Trump’s former National Security Advisor John Bolton transmitted classified emails over a private server system and they were intercepted by a hostile foreign country’s spy service, according to a leak to The New York Times.

As reported last week, John Bolton is reportedly under investigation for violating the Espionage Act, according to The New York Times.

“The investigation into whether John Bolton, President Trump’s former national security adviser, mishandled classified information is trying to determine if he violated certain sections of the Espionage Act, which makes it a crime to illegally retain or transmit national defense information, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of the case,” The New York Times reported.

The FBI raided the home of Trump’s former National Security Advisor, John Bolton, last Friday morning.

FBI agents were sent to Bolton’s home because he allegedly sent “highly sensitive” classified materials to family members from a private, unsecured email server while he was working at the White House during the first Trump Administration.

“Investigators reopened a dormant probe into Bolton’s alleged use of a private email to send classified national security documents to his wife and daughter from his work desk before his dismissal by Trump in September 2019, according to a senior US official,” The New York Post reported last week.

The investigation into John Bolton began in 2020 when he used classified information to write his book titled, “The Room Where It Happened.”

The Biden Administration halted the investigation into Bolton, but FBI Director Kash Patel revived it and ordered the raid on the former NatSec Advisor’s home.

John Bolton has not been arrested or charged with any crimes (yet).

The New York Times on Wednesday reported that the US Government actually discovered John Bolton’s classified emails while gathering information from an “adversarial country’s spy service.”

Keep reading

John Bolton cashed in and America paid the price

I went to prison for defending the Constitutional separation of powers.

John Bolton (an occasional contributor to The Hill) may well wind up in prison, too if investigators uncover evidence and prosecutors decide to bring charges over his alleged classified disclosures. 

When Bolton wrote his book, “The Room Where It Happened” — reportedly receiving a $2 million advance — he wasn’t just dishing gossip. He was sharing information about Oval Office conversations and national security that should have stayed secret — either by law or under executive privilege.

A federal judge already spelled this out in black and white. In June 2020, Judge Royce Lamberth warned that Bolton had “likely jeopardized national security by disclosing classified information in violation of his nondisclosure agreement obligations.” The judge only allowed the book to hit shelves because “the horse is already out of the barn,” given the publication of excerpts and the shipment of 200,000 copies of the book.

Lamberth went further in his ruling, stressing that Bolton had “gambled with the national security of the United States” and that the government was “likely to succeed on the merits” of proving he unlawfully disclosed classified material. Translation: Bolton didn’t just break trust — he may have also broken the law. 

I served with Bolton, and he was far too frequently a loose cannon, bent on bombings and coups— Doctor Strangelove with a mustache. He agitated for airstrikes, pushed regime-change fantasies, and obsessed over military solutions when diplomacy was working. Then, instead of honoring executive privilege and confidential debate, Bolton acknowledged that in writing his memoir he relied on the “copious notes” he had conspicuously taken inside the White House. 

That isn’t service. That isn’t patriotism. That’s profiteering off of America’s secrets. 

Keep reading

Never Trumpers Who Cheered Mar-A-Lago Raid Melt Down At Search Of Bolton’s House

The FBI searched the home of former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton on Friday, reportedly in relation to Bolton’s alleged possession of classified documents. Unsurprisingly, the same people who had no problem when the FBI raided the home of President Donald Trump are melting down.

Olivia Troye, former Homeland Security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, said on X that the search is an example of “authoritarianism.”

“When Kash Patel turns the FBI into Trump’s revenge squad, that’s not justice, it’s authoritarianism. Today it’s John Bolton. Tomorrow it could be any other critic who dares defy Trump. The Bureau’s credibility is being gutted from within. This is intimidation, not law enforcement. Every American should be alarmed.”

Troye, of course, had no grave concerns about “authoritarianism” after the August 2022 Mar-a-Lago raid when she jumped on CNN to speculate that Trump had mishandled secret documents and was in “bed” with “foreign adversaries.”

Former NBC host Chuck Todd said on X: “The senators who were bullied into confirming Kash Patel, how are you feeling today? It’s not like you weren’t warned that this guy would be comfortable politicizing the agency. Trump couldn’t have done this without the weak senate GOP enabling.”

Todd is the same person who, after the raid of Mar-a-Lago, said Republicans unifying around Trump were merely “under[cutting] faith in institutions.” Todd (along with three other NBC writers), told readers to “remember” that the FBI would only conduct a search with a “warrant” showing “probable cause” and therefore, Republicans should have preached “calm, or even measured caution” instead of reacting to the raid.

Rolling Stone’s Asawin Suebsaeng said on Bluesky: “You do not have to like John Bolton to see this for what it is.” Suebsaeng wrote in an article that it doesn’t matter what Bolton “does or doesn’t have,” calling it “irrelevant to what’s going on here: An openly lawless administration and Republican Party that pretends to hate the ‘Deep State’ is merely expanding it.”

But that’s not the same approach Suebsaeng took when covering the Biden Department of Justice’s unprecedented Mar-a-Lago raid.

Keep reading