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MSNBC’s Carol Leonnig reported that acting U.S. Attorney Kelly Hayes believes “there is a strong case that Bolton mishandled classified information.”
Those seizures also included “two USB drives, a hard drive, four boxes of printed daily activities, typed documents in folders labeled ‘Trump I – IV,’ and a white binder labeled ‘statements and reflections to allied strikes.’” The search warrant revealed investigators are probing potential violations of two provisions of the Espionage Act of 1917, which forbids the unauthorized removal or possession of national-defense information.
Accusations of Espionage and Document Hoarding
Sources told Reuters that Bolton is also under investigation for possibly hoarding classified documents — an offense carrying serious prison time. Officials believe some of the materials may have been improperly used while he was writing his 2020 memoir, The Room Where It Happened.
The Justice Department under the Trump Administration previously sued to block that book’s publication, arguing Bolton failed to complete the required national-security vetting.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth refused to halt publication — but only because the book had already reached the public. He later concluded that Bolton “likely published classified materials” and “exposed his country to harm.” The lawsuit was eventually dropped in 2021 after Joe Biden took office.
Spy Data and Foreign-Access Allegations
Adding to the intrigue, The New York Times recently reported that U.S. intelligence agencies obtained data from a foreign spy service suggesting Bolton shared emails containing classified information during his White House tenure in 2019. Those emails were allegedly sent over an unsecured server to multiple associates.
Investigators now suspect that at least some of the documents in Bolton’s possession were later accessed by an “adversarial foreign government.” If proven true, it would represent one of the most severe breaches by a former senior national-security official in modern history.
Political Irony
The timing is remarkable. For years, Democrats and media figures accused the Trump Administration of “political targeting” against its critics. Yet the renewed momentum of this case — which The Times notes “began to pick up steam” during the Biden presidency — undermines that narrative.
Bolton, a lifelong Washington insider and foreign-policy hawk, has often attacked the populist movement that once elevated him. Now he may face the same legal weaponry that the establishment has long aimed at Donald Trump.
If charges are filed under the Espionage Act, Bolton would join a short but infamous list of officials accused of mishandling national-defense secrets — a list that has included former CIA directors and cabinet-level figures.
For a man who built his career preaching national-security discipline, the irony could not be sharper.
The Justice Department has yet to confirm when an indictment might come, but sources close to the investigation say the hammer could fall as early as next week.
