John Bolton, a former national security adviser in Donald Trump\u2019s first administration, has vowed to defend his \u201clawful conduct\u201d after a federal grand jury indicted him on charges of mishandling and transmitting classified information.<\/p>\n
The indictment, filed in Maryland, appears to ultimately have been signed off on from prosecutors in the US attorney\u2019s office despite initial reluctance to bring a case before the end of the year.<\/p>\n
The 18-count indictment against Bolton involves eight counts of unlawfully transmitting national defense information and 10 counts of retaining classified information under the Espionage Act, according to the 26-page indictment.<\/p>\n
The indictment marked the third time in recent weeks the justice department has secured criminal charges against one of the president\u2019s critics and Bolton has accused Trump of abuse of power.<\/p>\n
Former Trump adviser John Bolton indicted by justice department<\/p>\n
The charges come at a fraught moment for the justice department, which has been rocked by extraordinary pressure from Trump to expand a vendetta campaign to pursue criminal cases against his political enemies.<\/p>\n
In recent weeks, Lindsey Halligan, Trump\u2019s handpicked US attorney in Virginia, obtained indictments against James Comey, the former FBI<\/a> director, and the New York state attorney general, Letitia James, over the objections of career prosecutors.<\/p>\n Bolton has been a thorn in Trump\u2019s side since he departed the president\u2019s first administration, criticizing him on cable news and assailing him for his own mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago club.<\/p>\n Read the full story<\/a><\/p>\n Zelenskyy to make missiles case in US as Trump plans to meet Putin in Budapest<\/p>\n Volodymyr Zelenskyy will head to the White House on Friday for a crucial meeting with Donald Trump, hours after the US president said he had agreed to another summit with Vladimir Putin in Budapest after a \u201cvery productive\u201d call.<\/p>\n The possible supply of US Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine<\/a> is expected to top the agenda during the Ukrainian president\u2019s visit. However, Trump\u2019s conciliatory tone after the call with Putin left in question the likelihood of immediate assistance to Ukraine and reignited European fears of US capitulation to Moscow.<\/p>\n Read the full story<\/a><\/p>\n US Senate vote to end government shutdown fails for 10th time<\/p>\n The US Senate failed on Thursday to reopen the government and to vote to fund the military during the federal government shutdown, ensuring that the standoff will stretch into next week.<\/p>\n The Senate vote on a short-term Republican funding bill failed for the 10th time with just 51 votes. A second vote on Pentagon funding in the afternoon similarly failed in a floor vote, meaning the process to begin fully funding military operations also becomes a non-starter. After the votes, senators are expected to leave Washington for the weekend, almost guaranteeing the shutdown lasts until at least Monday.<\/p>\n Read the full story<\/a><\/p>\n Trump adds \u2018Arc de Trump\u2019 to presidential renovations<\/p>\n More than two centuries have passed since France celebrated the emperor Napoleon\u2019s birthday by laying the foundation stone of the Arc de Triomphe. Now Donald Trump has imperial ambitions of his own.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, the US president unveiled plans for a grand arch in Washington that has already been dubbed the \u201cArc de Trump\u201d.<\/p>\n Read the full story<\/a><\/p>\n US admiral to retire amid military strikes in Caribbean and tensions with Venezuela<\/p>\n Amid escalating tensions with Venezuela and US military strikes on suspected drug smugglers in the Caribbean, the US admiral who commands military forces in Latin America will step down at the end of this year, defense secretary Pete Hegseth announced on social media.<\/p>\n Read the full story<\/a><\/p>\n What else happened today:<\/p>\n