John Bolton pleaded not guilty Friday to charges accusing the former Trump national security adviser of emailing classified information to family members and keeping top secret documents at his Maryland home. Bolton did not comment to reporters as he entered the courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland, where he made his initial appearance before a judge on the 18-count indictment brought against him on Thursday. It's third criminal case brought in recent weeks by the Justice Department against a Trump adversary, reports the AP, and is unfolding against the backdrop of growing concerns that the Republican president is using the law enforcement agency to seek retribution against his perceived enemies.
"Now, I have become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he deems to be his enemies with charges that were declined before or distort the facts," Bolton said in a statement Thursday, referring to Trump. Bolton is accused of sharing with his wife and daughter more than 1,000 pages of notes that included sensitive national defense information he had gleaned from meetings with other government officials and foreign leaders or intelligence briefings. Authorities say some of the information was exposed when operatives believed to be linked to the Iranian government hacked Bolton's email account he used to send the diary-like notes about his activities to his relatives.
The indictment is significantly more detailed in its allegations than earlier cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Unlike in those cases filed by a hastily appointed US attorney, Bolton's indictment was signed by career national security prosecutors. The indictment also accuses Bolton of storing at his home top secret intelligence about a foreign adversary's plans to attack US forces overseas, covert action taken by the US government or other information authorities say could put the country's national security at risk.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
