(NewsNation) — A federal grand jury in Maryland is meeting Wednesday to consider possible charges against former national security adviser John Bolton, a source briefed on the matter confirms to NewsNation.
The grand jury could be asked as early as Wednesday to charge Bolton with the sharing of classified documents, the source said.
Charges were expected to be brought Thursday if they were not brought Wednesday, the source added.
Bolton, who served as national security adviser in the first Trump administration and as U.N. ambassador for George W. Bush, has denied any wrongdoing and possessing classified documents.
Items seized in John Bolton raid revealed in court documents
The charges would stem from FBI searches in August of Bolton’s house and office, searching for classified information.
An FBI affidavit publicly released last month detailed that agents believed Bolton might have violated the Espionage Act by mishandling national defense information.
The affidavit confirmed the Trump administration believed Bolton may have wrongly revealed classified information in drafting his memoir, “The Room Where It Happened.”
An attorney for Bolton has previously noted the Biden administration investigated the matter surrounding his emails and decided not to pursue the case, which was launched during President Donald Trump’s first term.
“The materials sought and produced in the search process were reviewed and closed years ago. They have been revived because Trump’s DOJ – the most politicized in American history – is carrying out his political revenge. The materials taken included documents that had previously been approved as part of a pre-publication review for Amb. Bolton’s book and are the kinds of records that would be kept by a 40-year career serving at the State Department, as an Assistant Attorney General, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and National Security Advisor,” Abbe Lowell, Bolton’s attorney, said in a previous statement.
The Justice Department refused to comment on the possibility of charges Wednesday.
