John Bolton Pleads Not Guilty In Trump’s Latest Political Prosecution

John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s former national security advisor who became a prominent critic of the president, pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of mishandling classified information. 

Bolton, who was indicted on 18 counts Thursday evening, is the third political figure who has publicly taken on the president and then faced federal charges after Trump last month publicly ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue his foes more aggressively.

“I have become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he deems to be his enemies with charges that were declined before or distort the facts,” Bolton said in a statement released after the indictment.

Bolton surrendered Friday morning in a federal courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland. After the former Trump adviser pleaded not guilty, U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang, an Obama appointee, released him on his own recognizance. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Nov. 21.

The indictment against Bolton accused him of emailing classified material to two unauthorized family members using personal AOL and Google accounts. The messages allegedly described covert U.S. operations, foreign military plans and intelligence collected through sensitive sources and methods.

The indictment, brought by  the U.S. attorney’s office in Maryland, charged him with eight counts of transmitting national defense information and ten for retaining it. Each count carries a potential prison term of up to ten years.

In order to convict Bolton, federal prosecutors will be required to prove that he acted with willful intent to violate federal law.

Bolton became one of Trump’s fiercest critics after his abrupt departure as national security advisor in 2019. After he left the Trump administration, Bolton wrote a scathing memoir about his time in the White House.

The Department of Justice attempted to suppress publication of the book by alleging in court that it contained classified information that threatened U.S. national security. Trump repeatedly called for Bolton and other perceived enemies to face criminal charges.

In his statement after the indictment, Bolton denounced the charges as a politically motivated act of retribution that started after he resigned.

“Donald Trump’s retribution against me began then, continued when he tried unsuccessfully to block the publication of my book, The Room Where It Happened, before the 2020 election, and became one of his rallying cries in his re-election campaign,” Bolton said.

In addition to Bolton, the DOJ brought charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) and former FBI Director James Comey after Trump’s directive.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Maryland is also reportedly investigating mortgage fraud allegations against Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who was the lead manager in Trump’s first impeachment trial and was a key member of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol.