John Bolton, a former Trump national security advisor noted for his militarism and his mustache, was indicted on a variety of criminal charges this morning.
Bolton was indicted in federal court in Maryland, where he lives and where prosecutors have been investigating whether he improperly retained classified materials after his acrimonious departure from the first Trump administration. The indictment charges him with eight counts of transmission of national defense information and 10 counts of retention of national defense information.
President Trump has made a point of forcing blatantly politicized prosecutions since his return to office. The Economist reports, however, that the case against Bolton has weight absent in his pursuit of other political enemies.
It is no surprise to learn that Mr Bolton took minute-by-minute notes with an eye to writing his memoir. At roughly 500 pages, the manuscript was ready within two months of his exit. The indictment alleges that he called his wife and daughter his “editors”. Prosecutors say that before he started his job, the family created a group chat on a messaging app. “Why are we using this now? The encryption?” one of them asked. “Yup. Why not?” replied the other. To which Mr Bolton added: “For Diary in the future!!!”
Nor is it surprising that Mr Trump’s justice department pursued this case. In 2020 the Trump administration sued to stop Mr Bolton from publishing the book, arguing that it contained classified material in violation of his non-disclosure agreement. A federal judge ultimately allowed the book to be released—copies had already been shipped to stores—but issued a damning assessment. Mr Bolton, he said, had “exposed his country to harm and himself to civil (and potentially criminal) liability”.
Obviously this won’t reassure anyone concerned about the rule of law. All the same, Bolton is a deserving target for weaponized prosecution. A perfect comment from Redditor zer0thrillz: “People in the future are going to think that etymologically ‘trumped up charge’ originates from this time period.”
Previously:
• Trump fires John Bolton’s moustache
• President-Elect Trump reportedly denied John Bolton a cabinet position because he didn’t like his moustache
• John Bolton vows not to shave moustache
Discover more from Earlybirds Invest
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
