Former National Security Advisor John Bolton finds himself in deep legal trouble. That hasn’t stopped a federal grand jury in Maryland from handing down an 18-count indictment against him. The historic indictment charges that Bolton illegally handled classified material during his time as National Security Advisor. He is said to have disclosed private diary entries and patient notes with unauthorized individuals. The first appearances on these charges follow a years-long investigation that has reached major milestones since launching in 2021.
Bolton, the National Security Advisor under President Trump, should be ashamed and run out of town on serious charges. He is accused of sending thorough, verbatim notes regarding his daily meetings and briefings to two people who lacked the necessary security clearances. All these communications were made via private email accounts and the messaging platform Signal. This should alarm anyone who cares about the security of our most sensitive information.
While serving at the White House, Bolton meticulously documented his days on yellow notepads in handwritten diaries. He was meticulous about amassing records of his visits and even the secure environments where he processed classified material. He subsequently typed up his notes by hand into word processing software. His motive was to get them all together for his own 2020 memoir, “The Room Where It Happened.” This extraordinary memoir is the most critical and complete behind-the-scenes look at the Trump administration. It inspired the ire of many officials who felt it leaked sensitive information about their activities.
“BOLTON took detailed notes documenting his day-to-day meetings, activities, and briefings.” – source
For example, the indictment emphasizes that numerous entries in Bolton’s diary included extremely sensitive classified information. In the course of those communications, he circulated more than a thousand pages of these notes to Individuals 1 and 2. This was the case even after he had departed as National Security Advisor. On September 24th, 2019, only two weeks after his leaving, Bolton left the comms practice group used for these sorts of messages.
Abbe Lowell, Bolton’s counsel, eloquently contends that diaries of public officials are routine. Moreover, he believes that this practice must be decriminalized. He stated, “Like many public officials throughout history, Ambassador Bolton kept diaries – that is not a crime.” Uncovering hidden history Lowell contends that parts of Bolton’s private diaries are still unclassified and were only shared with his immediate family. He notes that the FBI knew about this practice as far back as 2021.
In August, FBI agents swarmed Bolton’s home in Maryland. They further conducted a search warrant of his D.C. office as part of a broader investigation into the alleged misappropriation of classified documents. In 2021, the Biden Justice Department dismissed the civil lawsuit and grand jury investigation. Then they too reopened the case leading to this most recent indictment.
Whether Bolton’s situation has any merit or not, it brings up serious questions about how classified information is handled by former government officials. The legal proceedings against him will likely focus on whether the notes he shared constituted a breach of protocol and if they were handled appropriately in compliance with national security regulations.
Whatever ultimately happens in the case, it will be worth observing closely, as many future observers surely will. Then they’ll discuss the implications for Bolton and the national security and information sharing practices of senior-level officials more generally.