‘Truly Problematic’: Gregg Jarrett Explains What Could Spell Trouble For Bolton

Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett said Thursday on “The Will Cain Show” that former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s “truly problematic” issue for him is going to be the private notes found on his AOL account that allegedly contained classified information.

A federal grand jury in Maryland indicted Bolton on 18 counts related to his handling of classified materials. Jarrett broke down the three main areas the FBI appears to be investigating.

“Well, when Bolton’s home and office were raided by the FBI, that was a pretty good obvious sign that they already had probable cause to believe that he was keeping classified material in prohibited places. That of course is a violation of the Espionage Act,” Jarrett said. “So an indictment seemed inevitable from that moment in time. The focus has been really threefold, physical documents with classified markings in his possession. Then there [are], second of all, private notes on his AOL account that allegedly contained classified information.”

“Finally, published material from his book that was not pre-approved, says the government, by the intelligence community, which the law requires. I think that the AOL account is truly problematic because it was hacked by a foreign adversary, according to an intel assessment that’s actually contained in the warrant affidavit. So if that’s true, that only supports the case against him because that’s precisely what the Espionage Act was designed to protect,” Jarrett added.

Bolton, who served under President Donald Trump during his first term, was investigated under the Biden administration over the potential illegal disclosure of classified information in his memoir. By June 2021, however, the Department of Justice dropped the probe. (RELATED: Elie Honig Breaks Down Why John Bolton Case Has ‘More Legitimacy’)

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Jarrett added that the age of the documents is irrelevant, emphasizing that if they’re classified, “it is criminal to have them in your possession.”

“Furthermore, legally, it doesn’t matter whether it was willful or sloppy because under the Espionage Act, it’s both. It’s a crime if it’s either intentional or negligent,” Jarrett said. “You would think that after the notorious Hillary Clinton case, the guilty plea by General David Petraeus, both of whom mishandled classified documents quite clearly, that others like Bolton who were in government wouldn’t do it. They’d be extra careful.”

“But, you know, John Bolton has always tried to leverage his positions in government by profiting financially from books, and keeping classified documents may have been his motivation, as it was for Joe Biden, who unlawfully stored classified documents in his home and garage, and he admitted it was for the purpose of writing a book,” Jarrett said.

After resigning from Trump’s first administration in 2019, Bolton has repeatedly criticized the president and released his book “The Room Where It Happened” in 2020, which was accused of containing classified information.

Prior to the book’s release, the White House National Security Council had still been conducting a review for any classified information. Bolton, however, authorized the publishers to move forward.

In August, the FBI raided the former national security adviser’s Maryland home and another address in Washington, D.C., on direct orders from FBI Director Kash Patel.

The indictment against Bolton follows those of former FBI Director James Comey in September and Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James on Oct. 9.

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