Senior Department of Justice officials are pushing to charge former national security adviser John Bolton this week, sources told CNN on Thursday.
Bolton was put under a federal investigation in August for allegedly sending “highly sensitive” classified documents to his wife and daughter via a private email server while serving during the first Trump administration, according to law enforcement sources. For now, some federal prosecutors believe they might have a stronger case against Bolton if they wait until later this year, rather than bringing charges immediately.
The FBI raided Bolton’s Bethesda, Maryland, home and his Washington, D.C., office last month as part of a revived probe led by FBI Director Kash Patel. Agents arrived at Bolton’s residence around 7 a.m. and later entered his D.C. office after a judge signed a search warrant.
Federal investigators are determining whether Bolton, 76, sent classified information to his family while still in office prior to being dismissed in September 2019. “While Bolton was a national security adviser, he was literally stealing classified information, utilizing his family as a cutout,” one senior U.S. official charged. The probe was initially opened in 2020 amid controversy over Bolton’s tell-all memoir “The Room Where It Happened,” but officials in the Biden administration demanded it be “shut down.”
Sources tell the outlet while one attorney from the deputy attorneys general’s office has been advocating charging Bolton this week, some are concerned over too many high-profile cases that are being brought at the president’s request. Earlier in the day it was reported that former FBI Director James Comey is expected to be indicted in Virginia over charges of perjury.
Trump, who fired Bolton after months of clashes over foreign policy, told reporters when the initial raid occurred he was not informed in advance of the raids. “I know nothing about it,” Trump said at the White House. “I just saw it this morning.” Trump began by labeling Bolton a “low life” but said he served his purpose in his administration. “He’s not a smart guy, but he could be a very unpatriotic guy. We’re going to find out.”
Bolton has yet to be arrested or charged with any official crime. The former ambassador to the U.N. posted a sharp critique of Trump’s Ukraine negotiations on X just prior to his home being raided. Since leaving the administration, Bolton has become a cable news regular, serving as a consistent adversary to Trump’s foreign policy and national security record.
Bolton was on record of being the highest-ranking Trump official to push back against withholding military aid from Ukraine to pressure the country into opening an investigation into alleged corruption of former President Joe Biden. Bolton was on record of saying, “I am not part of whatever drug deal that [former White House chief of staff Mick] Mulvaney and [former EU ambassador Gordon] Sondland are cooking up,” according to testimony from Fiona Hill who worked under Bolton at the National Security Council.
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