John Bolton's classified documents case bears striking similarities to Trump's
When John Bolton, former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, was indicted for allegedly mishandling classified information, the president had few words of consolation. "I think he's a bad guy," Trump said at a press conference, calling Bolton a "criminal" in 2020. However, this is not the first time that Trump and Bolton have been accused of hypocrisy when it comes to handling classified information.
Ironically, Trump himself once faced some similar charges to Bolton's. In 2023, he was charged with willfully retaining national defense information, a crime that carries significant penalties. A spokesperson for his 2024 campaign called those charges an "empty hoax." Trump pleaded not guilty and after winning the presidential election, the Department of Justice dropped the case, citing a policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.
Bolton, on the other hand, now faces allegations of keeping and transmitting classified information, including top secret national defense information. While the allegations against the two men differ in key respects, they also bear some striking similarities. For instance, both have been accused of unlawfully keeping U.S. military intelligence and exposing classified information to unauthorized individuals.
Trump and Bolton both accused of wrongly keeping top secret information
Both Trump and Bolton have been accused of improperly keeping classified information, including in some instances, top secret information. That's information the government has deemed so sensitive that its unauthorized disclosure "could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security."
Trump allegedly stored classified documents in boxes at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida on U.S. and foreign weapons capabilities, U.S. nuclear programs, and ways in which the United States and its allies could be vulnerable to a military attack.
Bolton, on the other hand, allegedly kept intelligence about future attacks by foreign adversaries and about covert actions that the U.S. government was either planning or had already conducted at his home.
Bolton, but not Trump, charged with transmitting national defense information
However, there is a key difference between the two men's cases. Bolton is accused of transmitting classified information extensively, including to unauthorized individuals. The day before Bolton began serving as national security adviser in Trump's first presidential administration, he allegedly created a group chat on a nongovernmental messaging application with two other people.
He repeatedly sent those individuals, whom he referred to as his "editors," classified information in "diary-like entries." Some of the entries appear to have been used for his subsequent book, "The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir."
Trump, but not Bolton, charged with obstructing justice in repeated alleged cover-up efforts
While Trump wasn't charged with transmitting national defense information, he was charged with trying to cover up his alleged misdeeds. He faced criminal counts of conspiring to obstruct justice, concealing documents and making false statements.
Bolton, but not Trump, allegedly hacked by foreign adversary
Only Bolton's indictment alleges a foreign adversary may have gotten access to classified national defense information as a result of alleged information mishandling. Sometime between September 2019 and July 2021, a cyber actor who the government believes is associated with Iran's government hacked Bolton's personal email account and got access to information he had emailed improperly.
Bolton and Trump both accused of hypocrisy in statements on Clinton emails and Hegseth Signal messages
Prosecutors also pointed out that Bolton and Trump have been hypocritical when it comes to handling classified information. Some of their statements concerned former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server for thousands of emails.
DOJ prosecutors concluded that none of the emails on the server included clear classification markings, although three email chains had paragraphs marked "C" for confidential. Those chains were missing further required markings for classified information.
"If I had done at the State Department what Hillary Clinton did, I'd be wearing an orange jumpsuit now," Bolton told CNN in January of 2017. "In my administration, I'm going to enforce all laws concerning the protection of classified information," Trump said in a public address in August of 2016.
"No one will be above the law."