President Donald Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton was indicted in Maryland on Thursday for allegedly mishandling classified information by sharing diary entries about his time in the White House with family members.

Maryland

John Bolton, who previously served as National Security Advisor and UN Ambassador, has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of mishandling classified information. The indictment follows an FBI search of Bolton's Maryland home and alleges that he illegally retained classified documents, kept an ongoing diary containing sensitive material, and shared entries with family members using unsecured methods.

Legal experts note that the investigation began prior to the current administration and was approved by a court, suggesting the process followed standard legal procedures. Bolton has denied any wrongdoing, claiming the case is politically motivated. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison, though legal analysts suggest a lesser sentence is more likely.

John Bolton indicted for allegedly mishandling classified info

A grand jury indicts John Bolton, President Trump's former UN Ambassador and National Security Advisor. Bolton has been accused of mishandling classified information, which he denies. The charges come nearly two months after the FBI searched Bolton's Maryland home. It's just the latest in several cases against critics of the President. When asked about this indictment yesterday, Mr. Trump said this. I think he's a bad person. I think he's a bad guy, yeah. He's a bad guy. He's too bad, but it's the way it goes. CBS News Legal Contributor, Rebecca Roife, joins us now with more. Good morning, Rebecca. Great to have you back. Help us understand what the merits of this case are as they appear right now against Bolton. It seems like a strong case. There are a number of counts, eight different counts of illegally retaining documents within his home in violation of what is known as the Espionage Act. And this relates to his AOL account, a diary that he kept, and things that you would expect a national security advisor know that they shouldn't do. Exactly, so he looked like he was keeping an ongoing diary. He was then sharing those diary entries with two individuals who are thought to be his wife and his child, and he was doing this on an unsecure server and keeping the documents also in his home, which wasn't approved for classified information. And that's what makes this interesting and different, because it's happening in the climate of people who have opposed President Trump, criticized President Trump, being indicted when we look at Letitia James and James Comey. But this seems different. Help us understand why. Yeah, I mean, first of all, I think, Errol, it's worth noting that in the past, before this administration, we would just assume that the work that was coming out of the Department of Justice was legitimate. But given these recent indictments that have looked so highly politicized and concerning from the outside, it's worth now asking. And I think there are reasons to think that this particular prosecution and investigation are more legitimate. And those are, first of all, this began during the Biden administration before Trump took over. There was a court that signed off on search warrants, though there is a court that said there is probable cause here. And finally, it's been proceeding in normal process. We haven't seen the kind of resignations of career officials that give us alarm in those other cases against Tish James and Comey have made us all think that something is going on there that has certain political inappropriate motivations. Bolton himself seems to suggest this is political. He says he's innocent. So what's next in this case? Yes, so, I mean, it's not unusual that in a prosecution of a highly political nature with somebody of this prominence, that that person will claim that this was politically motivated. And we will, you know, there is also still a possibility that there has been some kind of interference in this case, even though it looks far more legitimate. So we'll see all that play out through the motion practice that is gonna look quite similar to the motion practice in those other cases against Letitia James and James Comey, but may end up playing out differently here. And just in the last few seconds, what might the punishment be if he is found to be guilty? You know, he could face very serious jail time, up to 10 years, which for someone his age is essentially a life sentence. I doubt that he would actually face that, something far less would be appropriate. Perhaps he would plead guilty, but we're gonna see that all play out in time. All right, Rebecca Roife, always great to have you here. Nice being here. Enjoy your weekend. Thanks, Errol.

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Jerusalem

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Breakdown