A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., could decide as soon as Wednesday whether to indict John Bolton, who served as national security adviser in the first Trump administration, over allegations that he shared highly sensitive classified materials through a private email server.
Department of Justice officials told The New York Post that they expect an indictment either Wednesday or Thursday, with one describing the case against Bolton, 76, as "airtight."
The grand jury proceedings follow FBI raids in August at Bolton's suburban Maryland home and D.C. office, where agents searched for evidence tied to the alleged theft of "highly sensitive national security" information.
Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, was accused of using a private AOL email account to transmit classified material and to record diary-style notes about his daily activities and assessments throughout his time in the Trump administration, according to the Post. Bolton reportedly denied wrongdoing, saying he is "very confident" his memoir contained no classified content.
An unidentified foreign actor hacked the account, the Post reported, citing a probable-cause warrant unsealed last month. That means some of the information might have fallen into foreign hands, though the warrant redacted details of the breach.
Agents confiscated documents related to weapons of mass destruction, the U.S. mission to the United Nations, government strategic communications, and secret travel memos, according to court records cited by the Post.
Investigators were also instructed to search for software that could have enabled remote access to Bolton's devices and to determine if he had installed protections against malware. Even if he did not intentionally release classified data, he could still face liability if those materials were left unsecured, including on personal email.
After he was fired by President Donald Trump in September 2019, Bolton told officials he "did not have any notes or other records from his government service," according to court filings. The National Security Council grew skeptical after receiving a manuscript of Bolton's 2020 book, "The Room Where It Happened," which officials said contained classified material.
"As written, the manuscript is very detailed, suggesting that it was likely produced from notes written by your client during his service at the White House," Ellen Knight, then the NSC's senior director for records, access, and information, wrote in a letter to Bolton's attorneys, according to the Post.
Investigators first opened an investigation into Bolton's email activity that same year, but the inquiry was later "shelved" during the Biden administration — a decision one FBI source told the Post appeared politically motivated because of Bolton's criticisms of Trump.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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