The Justice Department is preparing to ask a federal grand jury in Maryland on Thursday to indict former National Security Adviser John Bolton, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
Bolton has been under federal investigation over allegations that he mishandled classified information during his time in the Trump administration. Sources previously told CNN that investigators are focusing in part on notes Bolton was drafting in an AOL email account while serving in the White House. He is believed to have used the account to record diary-style summaries of his official activities.
Earlier this summer, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Bolton’s residence in Maryland and at his office in Washington, D.C. According to court filings, agents seized a number of documents marked “classified,” “confidential,” and “secret.” Some of the material reportedly involved weapons of mass destruction.
Bolton has not publicly commented on the investigation. The Justice Department has also declined to discuss any grand jury activity.
If the grand jury returns an indictment, it would mark a significant escalation in a case involving one of the most high-profile national security figures of the Trump era.