Trump’s former adviser turned critic John Bolton expected to be criminally charged as early as next week: report
President Donald Trump’s former National Security Adviser John Bolton is reportedly about to be indicted on criminal charges, according to a new report citing sources close to the matter.
MSNBC reports that an indictment against John Bolton could arrive as early as next week.
Two people close to the situation, speaking anonymously to the broadcaster, said that a grand jury in Maryland has been hearing evidence for several weeks relating to claims that Bolton kept classified national security information at his home.
The sources said the pace of the case against Bolton has sped up recently.
Bolton’s potential indictment would make him the third of Trump’s enemies to face criminal charges in just a matter of weeks. Both former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James have also been indicted on criminal charges.
Trump fired Bolton during his first administration and Bolton has been a vocal critic of Trump’s leadership ever since.
The sources told MSNBC that prosecutors in Virginia and New York are hesitant to bring cases against Comey and James, respectively, but prosecutors in Maryland reportedly believe the charges being brought against Bolton may actually be based in fact.
Acting U.S. Attorney for Maryland Kelly Hayes has told her colleagues that she believes there is enough evidence to justify charging Bolton, the sources reportedly said.
Bolton’s home in Bethesda, Maryland, was raided by the FBI on August 22. Agents were executing a search warrant at his home in an attempt to locate classified records. The warrant was reportedly provided by the CIA and approved by a federal judge, according to MSNBC.
FBI Director Kash Patel celebrated the raid on social media at the time.
“NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission,” Patel wrote on X.
Bolton’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, has maintained that his client is innocent of all allegations made against him. He has repeatedly said that all of the classified documents Bolton had in his possession were from the George W. Bush administration — during which he served as a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations — and said those documents are typical of those that would be retained by a longtime government employee.
“An objective and thorough review will show nothing inappropriate was stored or kept by Ambassador Bolton,” Lowell said in September.
A heavily redacted version of the probable cause affidavit used by the FBI to justify the raid at Bolton’s home was unsealed in September.
