A federal grand jury in Maryland has indicted John Bolton, who used to be President Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor (NSA), with 18 counts of sending and keeping secret material. The charges say that the well-known Trump critic maintained top-secret government data at home and discussed more than 1,000 pages of confidential information with family members.
Bolton worked as President Trump’s National Security Advisor for 17 months before being sacked in 2019. Since then, he has been very critical of several of the Republican’s policies.
Details about the charges of classified information
The US Justice Department says that Bolton gave the secret information to two “unauthorized individuals,” who are thought to be his wife and daughter. According to the news agency AFP, the accusation claims that the information Bolton supplied was very sensitive and may have revealed “intelligence about future attacks, foreign adversaries, and foreign-policy relations.”
The indictment goes on to say that Bolton’s personal email account, which he allegedly used to exchange this confidential information, was hacked by a party thought to be connected to Iran. This adds another layer of security risk to the charges.
Bolton Denies Charges, Says They’re Political Revenge
The former NSA has strongly disputed all of the claims against him, calling the indictment a “intensive effort” by Donald Trump against his political enemies.
Bolton stated in his defense, “Now, I have become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he thinks are his enemies with charges that were declined before or distort the facts.”
Bolton is being charged with a crime after two other well-known critics of the former Republican President, New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey, were also charged with crimes.
Bolton’s Past Position on Oil Trade Between India and Russia
John Bolton was one of the diplomatic voices that publicly maintained India’s ability to buy oil from Russia before his current legal battle. This put him at conflict with the Trump administration’s foreign policy. Trump put 50% taxes on Indian imports because of the trade.
Bolton said that Western sanctions on Moscow during the Ukraine crisis shouldn’t stop countries from buying Russian oil at the capped price and selling it to other countries.
Bolton told the media that the problem is that India bought some gasoline from Russia, maybe refined it, and then sold it to other countries. That’s a complaint that should be talked about. But as they are written, the sanctions don’t stop anyone, even India, from buying Russian oil at the capped price, which is less than $60 per barrel, and then selling it somewhere else.
After Prime Minister Modi met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in August, he again openly attacked Trump, saying that Trump “set US-India relations back decades.”