Former National Security Advisor Bolton, Who Criticized Trump, Indicted... Voluntary Appearance Scheduled

John Bolton, who served as the White House National Security Advisor during the first term of U.S. President Donald Trump, was indicted on October 16 (local time) on charges of leaking national secrets.

John Bolton, former U.S. National Security Advisor to the White House. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to the Washington Post and other sources, a federal grand jury in Maryland indicted Bolton on 18 counts, including the illegal retention and disclosure of classified national defense information, some of which involved top secret materials.

According to the indictment, Bolton, while serving as National Security Advisor to President Trump from April 2018 to September 2019, shared hundreds of pages of "diary-like" records detailing his work with two relatives who did not have security clearance.

The personal email account Bolton used to send these materials to his relatives was hacked, and U.S. authorities have determined that the hacker was linked to the Iranian government. Prosecutors also allege that Bolton printed out numerous classified documents and stored them at his home in Maryland without authorization. In August, law enforcement authorities searched Bolton's home and office, seizing computers, phones, and a large volume of documents.

It was reported that Bolton voluntarily appeared before investigators the day after the indictment, on October 17, and was also scheduled to appear in a Maryland court the same day. In a statement, Bolton said, "I look forward to fighting to expose (President Trump's) abuse of power and to defend my lawful actions."

Bolton's attorney, Abbe Lowell, stated that some of the charges relate to Bolton's personal diary and argued, "These were not classified materials and were shared only with immediate family members."

Major U.S. media outlets criticized Bolton's indictment. The Washington Post, in an editorial, pointed out that Bolton's indictment is part of a pattern of selective prosecution. The Wall Street Journal remarked, "Opposing President Trump is very dangerous, but working with him is just as dangerous."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.