Washington: A US federal grand jury returned an indictment on Thursday charging former National Security Advisor John Bolton with serious crimes related to the mishandling of classified information. The indictment charges Bolton, 76, with eight counts of transmission of national defense information (NDI) and 10 counts of unlawful retention of NDI.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the FBI’s investigation revealed that John Bolton allegedly transmitted top secret information using personal online accounts and retained said documents in his house, directly violating federal law. FBI Director Kash Patel stated that the investigation uncovered Bolton’s unlawful actions involving sensitive documents classified as high as Top Secret. These documents reportedly revealed intelligence about future attacks, foreign adversaries, and foreign-policy relations.
Further, the indictment alleges that Bolton illegally retained NDI documents within his home. These documents included intelligence on an adversary’s leaders and information revealing sources and collections used to obtain statements on a foreign adversary. US Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland emphasized the importance of national security, stating that holding individuals accountable for endangering national security remains a top priority for the US Attorney’s Office.
If convicted, Bolton faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each count of unlawful retention of NDI and a maximum penalty of 10 years for each count of transmission of NDI. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.