Willing to defend himself against his mishandling of classified documents, he appeared in Maryland to extradite his former national security adviser and now one of his staunchest critics, John Bolton.
Concern for the rule of law in the US
Bolton is the latest in a series of Trump critics and opponents to be prosecuted at the behest of the Justice Department, as fear of a collapse of the rule of law in the US is now widespread in the country, at least among Democrats and those who do not support Donald Trump.
Bolton is being prosecuted under the Espionage Act
The indictment against Bolton (to which he has pleaded not guilty), filed in federal court in Maryland, includes eight counts of transmitting information related to national defense and 10 counts of illegally possessing information related to national defense, all in violation of the Espionage Act. Each charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, but the sentence upon conviction will be determined by a court that will take into account a number of other factors.
The investigation into Bolton began in 2022, before the Trump administration. Inside the Justice Department, the case is considered stronger than the prosecutions of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Leticia James, according to Reuters, citing a person familiar with the matter.
He is accused of sharing the information with relatives
According to the indictment, which has seen the light of day, Bolton is being prosecuted for sharing sensitive information with two of his relatives, possibly for use in a book he was writing (most likely the reference is to his memoirs from his time as Trump’s national security adviser during his first term) and which information includes notes on intelligence briefings and meetings with senior officials government officials and foreign leaders. As Bolton said in a related announcement before surrendering (during his surrender he did not make statements to reporters): “I look forward to the fight to defend the legality of my conduct and to expose Trump’s abuse of power.”
