A federal grand jury indicted former national security adviser John Bolton on Thursday, bringing yet another criminal case against a critic of President Trump.
Bolton is the third of Trump’s opponents to face criminal charges in recent weeks as the Justice Department pursues the president’s pledge to retaliate against his enemies.
The FBI searched Bolton’s home and office in August, and agents were seen leaving both sites with several boxes. Even during the search of his home, Bolton was tweeting criticism of Trump’s handling of Ukraine and Russia.
An affidavit later unsealed in court revealed that the FBI suspected Bolton of improperly withholding national defense information related to his memoir, “The Room Where It Happened,” over which the Trump administration had feuded with him for years.
The indictment comes days after New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) was indicted on charges related to mortgage fraud, and last month, former FBI Director James Comey was charged with two counts of perjury over his 2020 testimony before Congress.
Comey has pleaded not guilty, and while James has not yet entered a plea, he called the allegations “baseless” in a statement and vowed to fight them.
Unlike those cases, which are being brought in Virginia under Trump’s handpicked interim U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan, Bolton’s indictment was returned to Maryland, where he lives.
