The former national security adviser from the first term of US President Donald Trump - John Bolton, pleaded not guilty today to charges of leaking state secrets brought against him by the US Department of Justice, reported Agence France-Presse and Associated Press, quoted by BTA.
Bolton, who has become one of the most fierce critics of the Republican president, is accused of sending classified information by e-mail to members of his family, as well as keeping top-secret documents at his home in Maryland, the AP explains.
The 76-year-old Bolton was charged yesterday by a jury with potentially mishandling classified information. The former presidential adviser was released from custody after appearing before a judge today in the third case brought by the US Justice Department against an opponent of President Trump.
The case, in which Bolton is accused of endangering national security, comes amid growing concerns that the Trump administration is using the powers of the Justice Department to pursue political enemies, the AP notes. Bolton's argument is that he is being targeted for his criticism of the president, describing the legal action as "an attempt by Trump to intimidate his opponents." The investigation into Bolton, however, was already underway when Trump took office for the second time in January, and appears to stand apart from other recent cases against alleged enemies of the president, the AP reports. Bolton is accused of sharing with his wife and daughter more than 1,000 pages of memos containing confidential information he gathered from meetings with other U.S. government officials and foreign leaders, as well as intelligence briefings. Authorities say some of the information was revealed when operatives believed to be linked to the Iranian government hacked Bolton's email.
In addition, the U.S. Justice Department alleges that the former Trump adviser stored highly classified intelligence at his home about a foreign enemy's plans to attack U.S. forces abroad, covert U.S. government operations, and other state secrets.
"Justice is the same for all Americans," Attorney General Pam Bondi said yesterday. "Anyone who abuses their power and threatens our national security will be held accountable. "No one is above the law," she added.
Bolton is a longtime Republican foreign policy figure who became known for his hard-line views on American power and served for more than a year in Trump's first administration before being fired in 2019. He later published a book containing sharp criticism of Trump.
The indictment against him is significantly more detailed than those against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Unlike cases brought by a hastily appointed federal prosecutor, the indictment against Bolton was signed by prosecutors specializing in national security, the AP notes.