Trump ex-aide's legal trouble deepens; indictment likely next week

If charged, former National Security Adviser John Bolton would become the third prominent Trump critic to face federal prosecution in just the past few weeks.

The Justice Department is reportedly preparing to criminally charge US President Donald Trump's former National Security Adviser John Bolton, and a complaint or an indictment is likely to come as early as next week.

FBI agents searched the home of former NSA John Bolton last month.(Bloomberg)

According to two people familiar with the case, a federal grand jury in Maryland has been hearing evidence for weeks on allegations that Bolton improperly stored classified national security materials at his home in Bethesda, Maryland, MSNBC reported.

The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters without authorization.

If charged, Bolton would become the third prominent Trump critic to face federal prosecution in just the past few weeks under what critics are calling an increasingly politicised Department of Justice.

Bolton, whom Trump fired from his first administration, has been a vocal critic of the president. His lawyer has said he did nothing improper.

FBI raid, CIA intel, and a foreign hack

FBI agents searched Bolton's Maryland home and Washington office last month as part of a federal investigation over potential unauthorised retention or removal of classified information, according to court documents.

The search warrant was based on information provided by the CIA and approved by a federal judge. On the same day of the search, FBI Director Kash Patel circulated a social media post on X that read: “NO ONE is above the law... @FBI agents on mission.”

When asked about the raid during an appearance at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Bolton said nothing classified was included in his 2020 book, "The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir."

The redacted affidavit supporting the search contains a mysterious section titled "Hack of Bolton's AOL Account by Foreign Entity." While the content remains blacked out, sources told MSNBC that it involves classified information intercepted during US surveillance of a foreign government, the publication reported.

Political undercurrents

Bolton, who was fired by Trump and later wrote a blistering memoir detailing his time in the White House, has long been a target of the former president's ire.

Trump aides have previously urged federal prosecutors to pursue cases against Bolton and other political adversaries, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

On Thursday, New York Attorney General Letitia James, who successfully prosecuted Donald Trump, was indicted, the second foe of the US president to be slapped with criminal charges in recent weeks.

James, 66, a Democrat, was indicted by a grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, on one count of bank fraud and a second one of making false statements to a financial institution.