Surprises in Bolton Case: Classified Information, a Hostile State, and Unsecure Email

The case involving former National Security Advisor John Bolton appears to be far more significant than a simple misuse of classified documents, involving a series of major surprises.

John Bolton

The investigation into John R. Bolton, former President Donald Trump's first-term national security advisor, began to gain momentum during the administration of former President Joe Biden, when U.S. intelligence officials gathered information that appeared to prove he had mishandled classified information, according to people familiar with the investigation.

"The United States collected intelligence from a hostile state, including emails containing sensitive information that Bolton, while serving in the first Trump administration, apparently sent to close associates via an unclassified system," these individuals told The New York Times.

The investigation into Bolton, who has become a staunch critic of President Donald Trump, returned to the spotlight last week when federal agents searched his Maryland home and his Washington office.

While these searches have raised new questions about the extent to which Trump might use the Department of Justice and the FBI to pursue his opponents, the new details of the case present a more complex series of events.

These details suggest that the long-running investigation into Bolton's activities has been underway for some time, with certain aspects mirroring previous investigations into the handling of national security secrets.

According to the same sources, the emails in question were sent by Bolton and included information apparently derived from classified documents he had access to during his tenure as national security advisor in Trump's first term.

The Secret of the Book

Bolton apparently sent these emails to close associates who were helping him gather material that he would ultimately use in his 2020 memoir.

No charges have been filed against Bolton to date. The sources stated that a primary reason for the searches of his home and office was to determine whether the former national security advisor possessed materials that would match or confirm the intelligence agency's findings.

Two federal judges issued the search warrants.

To obtain these warrants, prosecutors had to demonstrate they had probable cause to believe that Bolton possessed evidence proving he had mishandled classified information.

Shortly before Bolton's book was published in 2020, the Trump administration went to court seeking to delay its publication. Around that time, the Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into whether Bolton had mishandled classified information in the book, according to The New York Times.

A judge later concluded that he may have published classified information, but the criminal investigation appeared to have stalled until intelligence about his emails was collected years later, specifically during the Joe Biden administration.

It is unclear which country intercepted Bolton's emails, but Iran, Russia, and China were all keenly interested in his correspondence during his time as national security advisor.

Due to his role in helping Trump carry out the strike that killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, Bolton had a security detail to protect him from potential Iranian retaliation. However, Trump abruptly terminated it the day after his second inauguration.