A new report revealed on Tuesday that the Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into former national security adviser John Bolton over his recently published tell-all book about his time in the Trump administration.
According to The New York Times, the investigation will look into whether Bolton unlawfully disclosed classified information in his book, which confirmed details of the Ukraine scandal that led to Donald Trump’s impeachment.
Bolton has denied those allegation, which administration officials have lodged in unsuccessful attempts to block its publication by Simon & Schuster.
Attorneys for the National Security Council and the Justice Department have been wary about launching an investigation after Trump called for Bolton’s prosecution. They feared that opening up a criminal case could be seen as politically motivated, according to two officials.
The Justice Department has convened a grand jury and issued a subpoena for communications records from the book’s publisher.
