Former National Security adviser John Bolton pleads not guilty to 18 counts of mishandling classified information. Image credit: BBC News
(The Post News) – Former National Security Adviser John Bolton pleaded not guilty on Friday to 18 federal counts of mishandling classified information, another high-profile case by the Trump administration’s Justice Department against one of the president’s most vocal critics.
Standing before Judge Timothy Sullivan in a Maryland federal court, Bolton firmly entered pleas of “not guilty” to all three counts. All of the charges carry a maximum ten-year jail sentence. The judge also ordered Bolton to surrender his passport, which prevents him from travelling abroad while awaiting trial.
GOP envoy aged 76 is charged with secretly storing and sending more than 1,000 pages of national security information via private email and messaging accounts when he served as Trump’s national security adviser from 2018 to 2019.
Bolton, accompanied by his attorney Abbe Lowell, maintained he did nothing illegal and blamed President Donald Trump for politicizing the Justice Department against political opponents.
The evidence in this instance was investigated years back and was settled,” Lowell stated. “This indictment is political payback.”
DOJ Expands Crackdown on Trump’s Critics
Bolton’s case comes on the heels of previous indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both long-time critics of Trump. The trend has raised alarm over politicization within the DOJ.
Trump fired Bolton in 2019 after constant disagreements regarding Iran, North Korea, and Afghanistan. Bolton has since then referred to Trump as “unfit for office” and driven by “chaos.”
Thursday, when asked about the allegations, Trump dismissed Bolton as “a bad guy” and claimed he “had it coming.”
Federal authorities allege Bolton kept classified memos at his Maryland home and forwarded them through a private messaging system. Portions thereof were later hacked by Iranian intelligence-affiliated hackers, according to the indictment.
State Attorney Pam Bondi said the case highlights the zero-tolerance policy toward national security leaks by the administration.
“Anyone who is abusing their authority and jeopardizing U.S. security is going to be held accountable. No one is above the law,” Bondi said.
The Justice Department claims Bolton’s “diary-style” entries contained top-level confidential information from his meetings and briefings with senior leaders and world leaders.
Familiar Controversy
This isn’t the first time Bolton has found himself in the hot seat for classified information. Bolton’s 2020 book, The Room Where It Happened, sparked government complaints for releasing confidential details of Trump’s presidency.
A federal judge determined Bolton likely divulged classified information without authorization, although the Biden administration later dropped the lawsuit, citing free speech concerns.
Bolton’s indictment is the newest to a growing list of concerns that Trump is weaponizing the Justice Department against his adversaries. Prosecutors charged several individuals who publicly criticized him in the past month.
While career prosecutors in Maryland brought the charges against Bolton, the trend of indictments against Trump’s adversaries undermines public trust in U.S. institutions, critics argue.
Bolton has a return date of November 21st in court. Lawyers will appeal the indictment and call for secret discovery material from prosecutors.
Because of the complications involved with handling highly classified documents, the case could take months or even years to reach trial. Outside the courthouse on Friday, Bolton wouldn’t comment, walking past demonstrators chanting, “No one is above the law!” and “Stop political revenge!”
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