WASHINGTON − Vice President JD Vance said “classified documents are certainly part of” the search of former national security adviser John Bolton’s house and he told “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker” that the inquiry wasn’t about retaliation against the former national security adviser, who has been a frequent critic of the administration.
Vance said the investigation is “in the very early stages” and that if evidence of crimes is found, Bolton, who also served during President Donald Trump’s first term as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, will be able to defend himself in court.
“Classified documents are certainly part of it, but I think that there’s a broad concern about, about Ambassador Bolton,” Vance told NBC for an interview airing Aug. 24.
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FBI agents searched Bolton’s house in the Maryland suburbs under a “court authorized activity” but the agency didn’t publicly identify who was targeted.
Bolton has been sharply critical of Trump, including saying that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin “clearly won” the summit with the president on Aug. 15. Trump called Bolton a “lowlife” on Aug. 22 and he previously canceled Bolton’s security clearance and security detail, despite an Iranian assassination plot targeting him.
Bolton had previously been investigated by the Justice Department for allegedly including classified information in his 2020 book, “The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir.” The department also filed a federal lawsuit to prevent publication during Trump’s final year of his first term in the White House.
But a judge refused to block the book, and the Justice Department dropped the criminal inquiry and the lawsuit in 2021, under the Biden administration.
Mark Zaid, a national security lawyer who represents whistleblowers against the government, said in a social media post Aug. 22 that “there is serious legal risk for Bolton” from the dispute over his book.
“But timing of this raid is highly – and I mean highly – suspicious,” Zaid said. “Looks like retaliatory, vindictive behavior.”
Vance denied that Bolton was targeted because of his criticism of the administration.
“No, not at all,” Vance told NBC. “And in fact, if we were trying to do that, we would just throw out prosecutions willy-nilly, like the Biden administration DOJ did.”
Vance said if Bolton is charged, he will have his day in court to defend himself.
“We are investigating Ambassador Bolton, but if they ultimately bring a case, it will be because they determine that he has broken the law,” Vance told NBC. “We’re going to be deliberate about that, because we don’t think that we should throw people – even if they disagree with us politically, maybe especially if they disagree with us politically – you shouldn’t throw people willy-nilly in prison.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bolton investigated over classified documents, VP Vance tells NBC
