Former US national security adviser John Bolton for allegedly mishandling classified U.S. defense documents, following raids on his Maryland home and Washington, DC, office last month.
According to court records, Bolton is under investigation for violating two sections of the Espionage Act of 1917, which prohibit the unauthorized possession or removal of national defense information, as well as a statute against hoarding classified files.
If convicted on all counts, the 76-year-old could face up to 25 years in prison. He has not been arrested or formally charged.
FBI raids home
The warrant revealed that Bolton is being investigated for allegedly emailing classified files to family members using a private server during Trump’s first term.
On August 22, federal agents searched his Bethesda residence and DC office, seizing three computers, two iPhones, two USB drives, a hard drive, and several boxes of documents. The seized materials included “typed documents in folders labeled ‘Trump I–IV’” and a binder titled “statements and reflections to allied strikes," reported The New York Post.
Case ropened after Biden-era pause
The case had been shelved under the Biden administration but was revived by current FBI director Kash Patel shortly after he took office in February.
“The [Biden administration] had probable cause to know that he had taken material that was detrimental to the national security of the United States, and they made no effort to retrieve it,” a senior FBI official told The Post.
The Justice Department is now reviewing whether the earlier decision not to pursue charges was politically motivated.
Despite the investigation, Bolton has continued to speak out against Trump’s policies.
“The White House has set US-India relations back decades, pushing Modi closer to Russia and China,” Bolton posted on X Wednesday. “Beijing has cast itself as an alternative to the US and Donald Trump.”
Bolton, who served as US ambassador to the United Nations under George W Bush, was Trump’s national security adviser from 2018 to 2019.
According to court records, Bolton is under investigation for violating two sections of the Espionage Act of 1917, which prohibit the unauthorized possession or removal of national defense information, as well as a statute against hoarding classified files.
If convicted on all counts, the 76-year-old could face up to 25 years in prison. He has not been arrested or formally charged.
FBI raids home
The warrant revealed that Bolton is being investigated for allegedly emailing classified files to family members using a private server during Trump’s first term.
On August 22, federal agents searched his Bethesda residence and DC office, seizing three computers, two iPhones, two USB drives, a hard drive, and several boxes of documents. The seized materials included “typed documents in folders labeled ‘Trump I–IV’” and a binder titled “statements and reflections to allied strikes," reported The New York Post.
Case ropened after Biden-era pause
The case had been shelved under the Biden administration but was revived by current FBI director Kash Patel shortly after he took office in February.
“The [Biden administration] had probable cause to know that he had taken material that was detrimental to the national security of the United States, and they made no effort to retrieve it,” a senior FBI official told The Post.
The Justice Department is now reviewing whether the earlier decision not to pursue charges was politically motivated.
Despite the investigation, Bolton has continued to speak out against Trump’s policies.
“The White House has set US-India relations back decades, pushing Modi closer to Russia and China,” Bolton posted on X Wednesday. “Beijing has cast itself as an alternative to the US and Donald Trump.”
Bolton, who served as US ambassador to the United Nations under George W Bush, was Trump’s national security adviser from 2018 to 2019.
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