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The seized documents marked as confidential appear to be about
weapons of mass destruction, national “strategic communication”
and the U.S. mission to the United Nations, investigators wrote
in a cataloged list of what was collected during the search in
late August. The list did not specify when the documents are
from. The FBI also seized phones and computer equipment at the
time.
More than a dozen pages in the affidavit have partial or full
redactions. It is not clear what exactly the documents contained
or why they were marked secret, confidential and classified.
Abbe Lowell, an attorney for Bolton, said in a statement
Wednesday the documents didn't indicate any wrongdoing. He added
that many of the documents were decades old, from Bolton's long
career in the State Department, as an assistant attorney general
and as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
"An objective and thorough review will show nothing
inappropriate was stored or kept by Amb. Bolton," Lowell said.
Bolton served for 17 months as national security adviser during
Trump’s first term, clashing with him over Iran, Afghanistan and
North Korea before getting ousted in 2019. He has subsequently
criticized Trump’s approach to foreign policy and government,
including in a 2020 book, “The Room Where it Happened,” that
portrayed the president as ill-informed on foreign policy.
The search warrant affidavit says a National Security Council
official had reviewed the book manuscript and told Bolton in
2020 that it appeared to contain “significant amounts” of
classified information, some at a top-secret level.
Bolton's attorney said that many of the documents seized in
August had been approved as part of a pre-publication review for
Bolton’s book.
Bolton is the latest of Trump’s political adversaries to find
themselves targeted by federal investigators. Prosecutors have
also launched criminal inquiries into New York Attorney General
Letitia James, California Sen. Adam Schiff and former FBI
director James B. Comey.
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Riddle reported from Montgomery, Alabama.
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