John Bolton pleaded not guilty Friday to charges accusing the former President Donald Trump national security adviser turned critic of emailing classified information to family members and keeping top secret documents at his Maryland home.
It’s the third criminal case brought in recent weeks by the Justice Department against a Trump adversary, and is unfolding against the backdrop of growing concerns that the Republican president is using the law enforcement agency to seek retribution against his perceived enemies.
Bolton is accused in the 18-count indictment of sharing with his wife and daughter more than 1,000 pages of notes that included sensitive national defense information he had gleaned from meetings with other U.S. government officials and foreign leaders or from intelligence briefings. Authorities say some of the information was exposed when operatives believed to be linked to the Iranian government hacked Bolton’s email account he used to send the diary-like notes about his activities to his relatives.
Other news we’re following:
Trump to host Zelenskyy, meet with Putin: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit the White House on Friday after the U.S. leader began signaling he’s not ready to sell Kyiv long-range Tomahawk missiles. Trump also announced a second meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, following a lengthy phone call between the two on Thursday.Government shutdown: Three weeks in, Congress is at a standstill, but Trump has shown little urgency to broker a compromise to end the government shutdown. Democrats insist no breakthrough is possible without his direct involvement, and frustration is starting to surface within the GOP as lawmakers acknowledge little happens in Congress without Trump’s direction.Body cameras on ICE officers: Troubled by clashes between agents and the public, a judge on Thursday said she will require federal immigration officers in the Chicago area to wear body cameras, and she also summoned a senior official to court next week to discuss an enforcement operation that has resulted in more than 1,000 arrests.