Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett predicted Friday on Fox Business that former National Security Advisor John Bolton’s decision to publish a tell-all memoir without full government approval could land him in serious legal trouble.
Federal agents raided Bolton’s Maryland home Friday morning after FBI Director Kash Patel reportedly ordered the operation as part of a national security investigation. In an appearance on “The Evening Edit,” Jarrett said Bolton’s legal peril extends beyond his book. Federal agents, he said, likely had probable cause to believe he either improperly stored classified documents or shared sensitive information with unauthorized individuals.
“So even if a sanitized version of his book was released, he’s still in jeopardy in two other ways. Because if he kept classified documents in his home or in his office, that’s a crime. And if he leaked information that he had in his head to somebody who was unauthorized, that also is a crime,” Jarrett said. “So it looks like they convinced a judge, based on probable cause, that a crime might have been committed. And evidence of that crime was inside either his office or a home, to issue today’s search warrant.”
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Jarrett said Bolton made a reckless move by publishing his tell-all memoir without securing final clearance from the federal government.
“John Bolton’s in legal jeopardy, obviously. When he was NSA, he was privy to a daily stream of classified information, involved matters of national defense, secret intelligence, so foolish to write a tell-all book, especially since he published it without waiting for final written approval from the government,” Jarrett told host Elizabeth MacDonald.
Jarrett said Bolton already faced sharp warnings years ago, when a federal judge reprimanded him for endangering national security by rushing to publish his memoir.
“And even back then, a federal judge scolded him and warned him that he was gambling with the national security of the nation, causing potential irreparable harm to the country. And the judge said to him, right to his face, you can be criminally prosecuted,” Jarrett said.
In 2021, U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth allowed Bolton’s memoir “The Room Where It Happened” to be published but warned that Bolton had “gambled with the national security of the United States” by releasing it without final government approval, exposing himself to potential civil and criminal liability.
Since stepping down as national security advisor in 2019, Bolton has frequently attacked President Donald Trump and drawn backlash for allegedly disclosing classified material in his 2020 memoir. Around the time of the FBI raid, Bolton posted a message on X condemning the president’s approach to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, though it remains uncertain whether he scheduled the post in advance.
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FBI raids John Bolton’s home in national security investigation
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