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On Newsmax’s Carl Higbie FRONTLINE, conservative legal veterans Victoria Toensing and Joe diGenova didn’t mince words about John Bolton’s stewardship of classified material, arguing what many Americans feel: public service is not a platform for personal profit. Their blunt assessment dovetails with a federal judge’s blistering line that Bolton “gambled with the national security of the United States,” a judgment that should still sting every patriot.
That judicial rebuke wasn’t rhetorical flourish; Judge Royce Lamberth warned explicitly that Bolton’s rush to publish after taking notes in office exposed the country to real harm and left Bolton open to civil and criminal liability. Conservatives who love this country shouldn’t cheer recklessness from a onetime national security official, no matter how many books he sells or headlines he chases.
The federal probe turned serious when FBI agents executed court-authorized searches of Bolton’s Washington-area home and office in August, a development that underscores the gravity of keeping sensitive material safe. If you’ve ever served, you know why the rule is simple: classified information isn’t a souvenir to be slipped into a drawer or an anecdote to boost a sales pitch.
This matter has now moved from headlines to the courtroom: Bolton was indicted and pleaded not guilty to multiple counts related to the alleged mishandling and transmission of national defense information. The facts will come out through legal process, but conservatives must demand consistency — if laws protect secrets, they must be enforced equally, and no one gets a pass because of a name or a bestseller.
Remember how the government warned authors about prepublication review for a reason: there is a narrow, sober discipline that comes with access to classified sources. Bolton’s critics on the right are right to point out that unilateral decisions to publish before clearance are not only arrogant but dangerous, and Judge Lamberth’s opinion from 2020 still reads like a sober rebuke to anyone tempted to treat secrets as commodities.
At the same time, true conservatives must insist on fairness from the Justice Department. We should demand that investigators follow the law, that prosecutions are based on evidence and not vendettas, and that the goal is national security — not spectacle. The rule of law is what protects our republic; Americans of every political stripe deserve an even-handed system that defends secrets and holds the arrogant accountable.
This controversy should be a reminder to every public servant: your duty is to the country, not to your bank account or vanity press deals. If officials treat classification like optional etiquette, they put lives and alliances at risk. Hardworking patriots expect accountability, and patriots will watch closely as the facts come into the light.
