John Bolton, the former national security adviser to Donald Trump, turned himself in to federal authorities on Friday after being charged with allegedly mishandling classified information. Bolton was seen leaving his Bethesda, Maryland residence on Friday morning, accompanied by a private security guard. He headed to the district courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland, where he made his first court appearance.
The charges against Bolton, announced on Thursday, allege the improper handling of sensitive information, marking a significant development that could potentially result in a ten-year prison sentence for the vocal Trump critic. A federal grand jury in Maryland claims that Bolton used his personal AOL account to transmit national security documents.
This indictment follows an FBI raid on Bolton’s Washington, D.C. office and his home in suburban Maryland two months ago. The investigation was focused on potential breaches of the Espionage Act, a statute established in 1917 that prohibits the unauthorized possession and dissemination of national security materials.
At Bolton’s D.C. office, federal agents discovered documents marked ‘confidential’ that referenced weapons of mass destruction, according to unsealed court records. At his Maryland home, agents seized two cell phones, documents in folders labeled ‘Trump I-IV’ and a binder labeled ‘statements and reflections to Allied Strikes,’ the court records also showed.
Court records also said a foreign entity had hacked Bolton’s email account, but the details were redacted. Bolton hit out at the indictment on Thursday afternoon, describing it as ‘retribution’ from Trump for their sour relationship.
‘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”,’ Bolton said of the charges. Under Joseph Stalin’s brutal rule of the Soviet Regime, his notorious secret police agency were responsible for mass arrests, torture, and execution of his critics.
‘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,’ Bolton said. ‘Dissent and disagreement are foundational to America’s constitutional system, and vitally important to our freedom.’
Bolton was tapped as Trump’s third national security adviser during his first term after previously serving as President George W. Bush’s ambassador to the United Nations.
After leaving the Trump White House, Bolton became a prominent critic of the president, calling the former real estate developer ‘stunningly uninformed’ in his memoir, which the Trump administration had tried to block.
As Wikileaks founder Julian Assange fought to stay out of prison for his role in disclosing classified information, Bolton famously argued that the journalist should receive a ‘176-year’ sentence. Bolton now faces decades behind bars for similar offenses.
