‘I See This As Different’: Elie Honig Explains Why Bolton’s Indictment Stands Apart From Other Trump Critics’ Cases

CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig said Thursday that former national security adviser John Bolton’s indictment cannot be fairly grouped with those of other “Trump opponents.”

A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted Bolton on 18 counts of mishandling classified information, while separate panels meanwhile charged former FBI Director James Comey with false statements and obstruction and New York Attorney General Letitia James with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. Appearing on “The Lead,” Honig told host Jake Tapper that Bolton’s case stems from an investigation launched during the Biden administration, not one that President Donald Trump’s Justice Department started.

“I see this as different. There’s no question there’s long-standing bad blood both ways between Donald Trump and John Bolton,” Honig said when asked if he sees Bolton’s indictment in the same frame as the previous indictments. “John Bolton also will be able to make a motion to dismiss based on selective or vindictive prosecution, but I see a couple distinguishing factors.”

Honig said that Trump did not publicly call for Bolton’s indictment in the way he criticized other figures like Comey or James.

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“One, Donald Trump, in contrast to Letitia James and Jim Comey, Donald Trump did not take to social media and explicitly order the attorney general to indict them. Bolton was not part of that social media post,” Honig said. “But, more importantly, Jake, the reporting is, and the indictment seems to reflect, this investigation predates the current Trump administration. And if that’s the case, if it goes back to the prior Biden administration, I think that’s really going to undermine any malicious prosecution claim that John Bolton has.”

Honig said that the charges against Bolton were more serious than those faced by Comey or James.

“Also, I should add, the charges here against John Bolton are vastly more serious than the charges that have been made against Jim Comey and Letitia James. So I see this as separate and apart from those,” Honig said.

FBI agents found documents marked “confidential” and “secret” inside Bolton’s Washington, D.C. office during an Aug. 22 raid, including some referencing weapons of mass destruction, though a simultaneous search of his Maryland home turned up no classified materials. Bolton’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, told Politico the materials had already gone through pre-publication review for Bolton’s memoir and were “reviewed and closed years ago.”

The indictment cites Bolton’s own media comments as evidence that he understood proper handling of classified information, including an April interview where he warned against discussing foreign policy on encrypted apps. The Justice Department under former President Joe Biden dropped a 2021 probe into Bolton’s memoir, which Trump’s DOJ had opened and pursued in an effort to block publication of his 2020 book critical of the administration.

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