Former national security adviser John Bolton compared the Trump administration to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin’s secret police. Indictment on Thursday.
“I have become latest target Bolton “weaponized the Justice Department to accuse those it considers its enemies by making accusations it has previously rejected or distorting the facts,” Bolton said in a statement.
“Then came Trump 2, who epitomizes what the head of Joseph Stalin’s secret police once said, ‘You show me the man, and I’ll show you the crime.'”
Federal prosecutors say Bolton sent more than a thousand pages of “diary-like entries” to two relatives and retained documents, articles and notes related to national defense. According to the report, those two people were Bolton’s wife and daughter. The Associated Press,
Bolton has claimed that the allegations are part of Trump’s retaliatory campaign against him, which intensified following the publication of his memoir “The Room Where It Happened”.
The Trump administration previously tried to block publication of the book, which Trump officials claimed contained classified information within its pages. During the Biden administration, the Justice Department decided not to press charges.
Thursday’s indictment also accuses Bolton of failing to notify the FBI that classified and national defense information was stored in his email account after it was allegedly hacked by Iran in 2021.
Bolton responded to allegations Thursday that the FBI had full knowledge of when his email was hacked, arguing that the matter was about more than his feud with Trump.
Bolton said, “These allegations are not just about me or my diaries, but about his intense effort to intimidate his opponents to ensure that they alone determine what is said about his conduct.”
“Disagreement and disagreement are fundamental to America’s constitutional order and vitally important to our freedoms,” Bolton said. “I look forward to the fight to defend our lawful conduct and expose abuses of power.”
Following the FBI raid of Bolton’s home and office in August, Trump said of his former adviser, “He’s not a smart guy. But he may be a very treasonous guy. We’re going to find out.”
Prosecutors said some of the sensitive information stored and transmitted by Bolton was classified as top secret. And legal experts say the case against Bolton appears stronger than cases brought against other Trump foes in recent weeks.
“At no point did Bolton have the authority to store or transmit the classified information sent to Individuals 1 and 2 through their personal electronic devices and accounts,” charging documents read. “Nor, at any time, did Individuals 1 and 2 have the authority to know or store the classified information that Bolton gave them.”
