On Wednesday, a grand jury was assembled to deliberate potential charges against John Bolton concerning his alleged mishandling of classified documents.
Bolton, who served as National Security Advisor under Trump, reportedly transmitted classified emails via a private server, leading to interception by foreign intelligence, as highlighted in a recent leak to The New York Times.
He finds himself under scrutiny for possible violations of the Espionage Act.
According to the New York Post, a grand jury was convened Wednesday afternoon to assess accusations against Bolton regarding the transmission of sensitive classified materials using a private email server, as reported by The Post.
The proceedings follow a raid by federal investigators on Bolton’s home in Maryland and his office in Washington, D.C., conducted two months ago to gather evidence related to the alleged misappropriation of “highly sensitive national security” information.
Sources indicate that Justice Department representatives anticipate an indictment might be forthcoming as early as Wednesday or Thursday, with one asserting the case against the 76-year-old is “airtight.”
Bolton is charged with utilizing his private account to disseminate sensitive information and maintaining diary-like notes of his daily assessments and activities during his tenure in office, according to The Post.
Following the August FBI raid on Bolton’s residence, new documents surfaced indicating the presence of classified materials.
The FBI’s actions stemmed from allegations that Bolton transmitted “highly sensitive” classified materials to family members using an unsecured private email server during his White House service under Trump.
As reported last week by The New York Post, “investigators reopened a previously dormant investigation into Bolton’s alleged use of private email to send classified national security documents to his wife and daughter” prior to his dismissal by Trump in September 2019.
This investigation originally ignited in 2020 when Bolton released information deemed classified to produce his tell-all book, “The Room Where It Happened.”
Though the Biden Administration put a halt to this inquiry, FBI Director Kash Patel has since revived it, culminating in the raid on Bolton’s residence.
The New York Times previously reported that John’s classified emails came to light while the U.S. was gathering intelligence from an “adversarial country’s spy service.”
Recent document releases reveal Bolton’s retention of information regarding weapons of mass destruction and U.N. operations.
The FBI has reported finding various potentially classified records at Bolton’s office, including travel memos marked as “secret,” confidential documents from the U.S. mission to the U.N., and communications documents linked to WMDs, as detailed by Politico.
DEVELOPING…
