Former national security adviser John Bolton arrives for his arraignment at the Greenbelt Federal Courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland, in October. (Rod Lamkey, Jr./AP)
U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang seemed reluctant to accept the government’s lengthy proposed timeline for the document review process to take place, noting the government’s obligations under the Speedy Trials Act, which sets time limits for federal criminal trials.
Seven months "is a very long time," Chuang told Thomas Sullivan, the lead prosecutor for the Justice Department, referring to the proposed May 22, 2026, date to produce discovery.
"How many documents are in play here? Frankly, most of this should have been done before the indictment," Chuang noted. "Even assuming that couldn’t be completed, I still can’t understand why it would take seven months."
In response, prosecutors noted that they still need to sort through some 1,000 pages of single-space documents obtained from Bolton's home, and reiterated they have set "aggressive deadlines" for the intelligence community to review the documents.
Bolton's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in response that there are as many as three electronic devices that they haven't "even started the process" of reviewing, and which all must be reviewed by the filter team.
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Then-National Security Advisor John R. Bolton listens as then-President Donald J. Trump meets with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House July 18, 2019, in Washington. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Still, the case against Bolton differs significantly.
Unlike those cases, Bolton's investigation into his handling of classified materials moved forward in part during the Biden administration, and career prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s office signed off on the charges — a contrast to the cases against Comey and James, which were brought by Trump’s former attorney, Lindsey Halligan.
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Bolton, who pleaded not guilty to all charges last month, was ordered released by a magistrate judge on the condition that he remain in the continental United States and surrender his passport.
In a statement released after his indictment, Bolton said, "I have become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he deems to be his enemies with charges that were declined before or distort the facts."
Breanne Deppisch is a national politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI and other national news. She previously covered national politics at the Washington Examiner and The Washington Post, with additional bylines in Politico Magazine, the Colorado Gazette and others. You can send tips to Breanne at Breanne.Deppisch@fox.com, or follow her on X at @breanne_dep.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bolton-faces-key-pre-trial-test-criminal-case-moves-closer-trial