Trump Had 'Constant Fixation' of Trying to Keep Documents: John Bolton

Former President Donald Trump had a "constant fixation" on holding onto documents, his ex-National Security Adviser John Bolton said.

Trump is set to be arraigned in Miami on Tuesday on 37 counts ranging from willful retention of classified documents to obstruction charges in connection to the Department of Justice's investigation into whether he mishandled classified documents after leaving office in January 2021.

Federal prosecutors are accusing Trump of mishandling sensitive presidential records and obstructing government efforts to retrieve them. Trump, however, has maintained his innocence, accusing prosecutors of a politically-motivated investigation.

Bolton, who served as Trump's top security adviser from 2018 to 2019 but has become a staunch critic of the former president, weighed in on the indictment during an appearance on CNN Monday morning, shedding light on how Trump handled sensitive documents while he was president.

The former national security adviser said that Trump had a "constant fixation" on trying to hold onto classified documents while also taking a jab at his former boss.

"It's very important, obviously, to give the president all the information he needs to make a decision. Unfortunately, Trump didn't pay too much attention to a lot of what he was given," Bolton said. "But he paid enough attention to it to have a constant fixation on trying to hold on to documents."

Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign via email for comment.

As national security adviser, Bolton would have worked with Trump with secretive documents related to United States security and foreign policy issues. While the contents of many of the documents allegedly in Trump's possession remain unknown, the indictment alleged that Trump once admitted to holding a Department of Defense file about a potential attack against another country.

Bolton said that his office at the White House was "drowning in classified information," and that he and other advisers managed to "get back" a lot of classified files from the former president.

When pressed on why Trump kept the files, Bolton outlined several possible reasons for his actions. He speculated that Trump may have viewed some of the documents as "souvenirs" from his time in the White House, but that he may have also believed some of the files could be "useful to him later."

Bolton also spoke out against Trump following news of the indictment last week.

"The @GOP should adopt a rule that no one under Federal or state criminal indictment is eligible to be nominated for POTUS. It sets a very low bar that those aspiring to reach the highest office should have no trouble clearing," Bolton tweeted on Friday.

In total, Trump is facing 37 counts. This includes 31 counts of willful retention of classified documents and one count each of conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document or record, concealing a document in a federal investigation, scheme to conceal, and false statements and representations.