According to the New York Times, a large jury in the federal district court of Maryland decided on Friday to file a lawsuit against former U.S. President John Bolton, an assistant for national security affairs, on charges of illegal storage and transfer of classified information. The New York Times said that if the charges were established, Bolton could face life imprisonment. The charges included 18 charges. Bolton issued a statement on the 16th, denying any misconduct, while accusing Trump of "using the Justice Department to charge those he thought were enemies."
Prosecutors said in court documents that Bolton shared more than 1,000 pages of "diary" entries with two relatives that contained confidential information about his daily activities as a National Security Assistant. Prosecutors said Bolton would send these entries electronically. The documents did not specify the recipient, but informed sources said the recipient was Bolton's wife and daughter.
Bolton, 76, has served as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations. During Trump's first term as president, Bolton served as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. During this period, Bolton and Trump gradually developed a rift. In September 2019, Trump announced the dismissal of Bolton as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. In June 2020, Bolton published "The Room of the Incident: A Memoirs of the White House", in which he criticized Trump's foreign policy and government policies. Trump has accused the book of containing "highly confidential information" and Bolton published it "without approval." The New York Times stated that the book exposed the behind-the-scenes operations of the Trump administration from a highly critical perspective. Bolton sent emails containing sensitive information to relatives so that they could help him collect material for writing his memoirs.
Bolton was shot to leave his home in Bessesta, Maryland, that morning, and then entered the federal district court in Greenbelt to attend the first hearing.