High-profile litigator Mark Zaid: If probe is about book, Bolton likely broke law
Top NatSec Lawyer Mark Zaid: Bolton Book Could Mean Espionage Act Violations
Hilary Golston spoke with Mark Zaid, a high-profile national security attorney who has represented Cabinet officials and intelligence officers and is now suing the Trump administration to restore his own security clearance. Zaid explains why the FBI raid on John Bolton’s home could center on his 2020 book "The Room Where It Happened," and how nondisclosure agreements and the Espionage Act may come into play.
(FOX 2) - A high-profile national security litigator who once held a security clearance and is suing the Trump administration to restore it is raising questions about the FBI raid on John Bolton’s Maryland home and Washington office.
Mark Zaid, who has represented senior government officials, spies and intelligence community members told Hilary Golston the investigation heavily hinges on whether it is tied to Bolton’s 2020 memoir The Room Where It Happened or to more recent conduct.
"If this had happened five years ago, I would have perfectly understood it," Zaid said. "The timing of it makes it highly highly suspicious that it’s political, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a legitimate legal basis to actually pursue this investigation."
He noted that if the raid is about Bolton’s book, the government may be looking at how draft manuscripts were circulated. "Here’s where Bolton could be in real trouble," Zaid said. "When John Bolton submitted the book to the White House for review, that career professional told the judge that the book contained a voluminous amount of classified information." He said it’s likely that draft copies with sensitive material were shared with people in Bolton’s circle like his lawyer, literary agent and publisher, all of whom lacked clearances. "Those are all violations not only of his secrecy agreement, but also of the Espionage Act."
Zaid stressed that the Espionage Act is broader than spying. "The statute covers dissemination of national defense information," he said. Zaid says the law is so "broad" it’s ripe for abuse.
On nondisclosure agreements, Zaid said courts have consistently upheld them, but noted the high burden the government must meet to block publication. "There’s a high, high burden that the government needs to meet to be able to enjoin someone from disclosing information even when classified," he said. He pointed out that although a judge agreed Bolton’s book likely contained classified information, an injunction was denied.
Zaid added that the government has in the past insisted on extraordinary measures with publishers. "I’ve had cases where we’ve made arrangements with the government that the publisher destroyed 50,000 of a book because they were concerned it had classified information," he said.
The FBI raid last week was carried out at Bolton’s Bethesda home and his Washington office as part of a revived investigation into possible mishandling of classified material. Agents removed boxes from both locations, though no charges were filed and Bolton was not present at the time. The search marks the most aggressive action taken against a former national security adviser in decades. It revives questions about how the government enforces secrecy agreements against senior officials.
The Media Freedom and Information Access clinic at Yale Law School filed an amicus brief supporting Zaid’s challenge to the revocation of his own clearance, warning that politicized clearance actions threaten both free speech and the ability of national security attorneys to represent clients.