We finally have an idea why John Bolton is in hot water — and the factor that could bring things to a boil

John Bolton, President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, is reportedly under investigation for allegedly mishandling classified information. If held to his own standard, then his days as a free man might be numbered.

Nearly a year after the FBI's 2022 raid of Trump's Palm Beach residence, Jack Smith — the special counsel illegally appointed by Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland — charged Trump with supposedly mishandling classified information.

'Bolton likely jeopardized national security by disclosing classified information in violation of his nondisclosure agreements.'

Bolton was among those who rushed to attack the president, happily touring liberal newsrooms with smears and speculation. He told Biden press secretary turned MSNBC talking head Jen Psaki, for instance, that he was "pretty confident" the allegations in the Trump indictment were true.

While admittedly oblivious to the contents of the documents that Trump supposedly retained, Bolton told CNN, "They did go to absolute, the most important secrets that the United States has, directly affecting national security, directly affecting the lives and safety of our service members and our civilian population. If he has anything like what … the indictment alleges, and of course the government will have to prove it, then he has committed very serious crimes."

"This really is a rifle shot," Bolton said in reference to the indictment, "and I think it should be the end of Donald Trump’s political career."

While Trump's case was ultimately dismissed, Bolton's troubles with the law are apparently beginning to snowball.

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FBI conducts authorized search of Bolton's house on Aug. 22. Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

The FBI raided Bolton's home in Bethesda, Maryland, on the morning of Aug. 22 on FBI Director Kash Patel's orders. Later in the day, federal agents searched Bolton's Washington, D.C., office.

A top U.S. official told the New York Post that the raid was in connection with a resurrected probe involving Bolton's alleged use of a private email server to send classified national security documents to family members from his work desk prior to his September 2019 dismissal by Trump.

The official told the Post, "While Bolton was a national security adviser, he was literally stealing classified information, utilizing his family as a cutout."

'Washed up Creepster John Bolton is a lowlife who should be in jail.'

In Trump's first term, the Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into whether Bolton disclosed classified information in his book, "The Room Where It Happened," after first proving unable to stop the publication of the book with a lawsuit.

The Trump administration failed to secure an injunction because Bolton's book had already made its way into the hands of booksellers.

"Bolton likely jeopardized national security by disclosing classified information in violation of his nondisclosure agreements," wrote U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth. "The government sufficiently alleges that Bolton disclosed information without confirming that the information was unclassified."

Lamberth noted further that while "Bolton may indeed have caused the country irreparable harm," "with hundreds of thousands of copies around the globe — many in newsrooms — the damage is done."

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Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Trump noted in June 2020, "Washed up Creepster John Bolton is a lowlife who should be in jail, money seized, for disseminating, for profit, highly Classified information."

The case was referred to the DOJ by then-Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, but the resulting investigation was torpedoed by President Joe Biden's administration for "political reasons," according a top U.S. official.

The probe has been reopened — and it appears that the stakes are higher than previously acknowledged, as Bolton's alleged carelessness was exploited by a foreign regime.

Individuals said to be familiar with the investigation but speaking on the condition of anonymity recently told the New York Times that the U.S. gathered data from an adversarial country's spy service and found emails containing sensitive information that Bolton allegedly sent to individuals "close to him" on an unclassified system while still working for the Trump administration.

It is presently unclear which adversarial nation obtained the emails.

The individuals familiar with the probe indicated that the emails contained information apparently taken from classified documents Bolton had seen while serving as Trump's national security adviser.

Bolton is evidently taking the investigation seriously, having reportedly had discussions with Abbe Lowell, the high-profile criminal defense attorney who has represented pardoned felon Hunter Biden, New York state Attorney General Letitia James, and ex-Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook.

The White House referred Blaze News to the DOJ for comment, which declined to comment when pressed by the Times. Bolton also reportedly declined to comment.

On his first day back in office, Trump revoked any security clearances Bolton might have held.

Trump noted that the publication of Bolton's memoir "created a grave risk that classified material was publicly exposed" and "undermined the ability of future presidents to request and obtain candid advice on matters of national security from their staff."

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