DOJ launches probe into Bolton book for possible classified information disclosures

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched a criminal investigation into whether former White House national security adviser John Bolton illegally disclosed classified information in his memoir that was released earlier this year, The Hill has confirmed.

The agency has convened a grand jury and subpoenaed Bolton's publisher, Simon & Schuster, for records related to communications surrounding the tell-all book, "The Room Where It Happened," The New York Times first reported.

The DOJ declined to comment when asked to confirm the investigation. "Ambassador Bolton emphatically rejects any claim that he acted improperly, let alone criminally, in connection with the publication of his book, and he will cooperate fully, as he has throughout, with any official inquiry into his conduct."

The investigation was opened after the DOJ received a referral from Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe.

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