'Expect a brawl': Legal expert points out 4 weaknesses in Trump DOJ's Bolton indictment
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Attorney and former U.S. ambassador Norm Eisen on MSNBC on October 16, 2025 (Image: Screengrab via MSNBC / YouTube)
President Donald Trump's Department of Justice on Thursday indicted former National Security Advisor John Bolton on 18 felony counts. And while Bolton's charging document is meatier than the recent indictments against two of Trump's other political opponents, one prominent legal expert poked several major holes in the DOJ's case.
On Thursday, attorney and former U.S. Ambassador Norm Eisen told an MSNBC panel that while the finer details of Bolton's indictment remain unclear due to them pertaining to classified documents, there are three major weaknesses in the DOJ's case against the former Trump administration official. He said the main argument Bolton's legal team will likely bring up is Trump's "revenge motive."
"Even if these [charges] are valid, thatstill gives rise to avindictive prosecution," Eisen said, adding that "Donald Trump's own conduct wasmore serious" in his own classified documents case.
Eisen also pointed out that Bolton's prosecution was part of a "pattern," noting that both former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) were both indicted after Trump explicitly demanded it.
"This isn't anisolated revenge prosecution:It's the latest in a series," he said.
The former U.S. ambassador's third point was that the indictment is based on Bolton's diary entries, rather than direct transmission of sensitive intelligence. He noted that multiple presidents and presidential advisors have all kept private diaries, and that those diaries are "not the same thing ashaving documents withclassified markings."
"As far aswe can tell from thisindictment, none of those werefound in the house," Eisen said. "The factthat the Biden administrationapparently investigated thisand passed on the case, that'sanother reason to questionwhat's going on here."
Eisen concluded that there was still a problem of Bolton being indicted by an "independent counsel." He acknowledged that while more than one DOJ prosecutor signed Bolton's charging documents (compared to Trump's interim U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia being the only one to sign indictments for Comey and James), the level of independence "should be investigated because of all of those badges of suspicion."
"It must be said: Bolton's verycapable Abbe Lowell — one of thetoughest fighters in the legalgame — has denied the validityof this indictment," Eisen said. "So expect a brawl."