Former National Security Adviser John Bolton Indicted for Mishandling Classified Information

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified information. The indictment alleges that Bolton stored top-secret records at his residence and shared sensitive, diary-like notes about his government tenure with relatives.

The 18-count indictment also suggests that classified information was exposed when operatives believed to be linked to the Iranian regime hacked Bolton's email account in 2021, gaining access to secrets he had shared.

The investigation into Bolton's handling of classified information dates back several years. In August, FBI agents searched his Maryland home and Washington, D.C., office, seizing multiple documents labeled "classified," "confidential," and "secret." Some of these records pertained to weapons of mass destruction and national strategic communication.

Bolton's attorney, Abbe Lowell, has stated that many of the documents seized were decades old and had been approved as part of a pre-publication review for Bolton's 2020 book, "The Room Where It Happened."

This indictment follows recent charges against other prominent figures, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Both have denied wrongdoing.

Bolton served as National Security Adviser from April 2018 until his departure in September 2019. He has since been a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump, particularly in his 2020 memoir, which portrayed Trump as uninformed on foreign policy matters.