Former National Security Advisor John Bolton Indicted For Mishandling Classified Information

Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury on 18 counts of illegally retaining and transmitting classified national security materials, a case that could see the longtime Republican foreign policy figure facing decades behind bars.

The indictment, filed in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland, accuses Bolton of using a personal AOL email account to send sensitive government documents and share restricted material with unauthorized individuals during his tenure in the Trump administration.

Bolton, 76, served as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser from April 2018 until his dismissal in September 2019. At the time, he insisted he did not retain any classified documents or notes upon leaving office.

However, according to court filings, several of Bolton’s communications remained stored on his AOL account, which was later compromised when a foreign actor hacked into his email. Details of the breach were revealed in a probable cause warrant unsealed last month.

Federal prosecutors said the unsecured messages included information that could threaten U.S. national security if accessed by hostile entities. Bolton faces up to ten years in prison for each count in the indictment.

FBI agents raided Bolton’s Maryland residence and his Washington, D.C. office on August 22 as part of the ongoing investigation, which was shelved during the Biden Administration, according to anonymous sources cited by the New York Post.

Court documents show agents recovered materials related to weapons of mass destruction, U.S. communications strategy, the United Nations mission, and sensitive travel memoranda.

Even if Bolton never intended to distribute the information, prosecutors argue he could still be criminally responsible for carelessly storing or transmitting it, especially through his personal AOL account. Federal law treats such negligence as a serious national security breach.

Investigators were also instructed to search for software that may have allowed unauthorized access to Bolton’s devices and to determine whether he had taken any steps to detect or prevent cyber intrusions, such as installing malware protection.

It remains unclear whether any such programs were discovered.

If convicted on all charges, Bolton could face a sentence of up to 180 years in federal prison.