Former U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton, once a senior aide and now a vocal critic of Donald Trump, has been indicted on multiple federal charges over the alleged mishandling of classified information.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Thursday that a grand jury in Maryland approved an eight-count indictment for transmission of national defense information (NDI) and 10 counts of unlawful retention of the same.
Prosecutors allege that the 76-year-old former diplomat unlawfully stored and shared sensitive materials related to U.S. national defense, intelligence operations, and foreign relations. If convicted on all charges, Bolton could face up to 10 years in prison per count.
Court documents filed in Greenbelt, Maryland, claim that Bolton used personal email and private messaging apps to transmit classified material, which reportedly contained “details about potential future attacks, intelligence operations, and foreign adversaries.” Federal agents searched his home and office in August, seizing both printed and digital records, including diary-like notes from his time as National Security Adviser (2018–2019) under Trump.
Announcing the charges, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said, “No one is above the law. When classified materials are mishandled, it jeopardizes American lives and national security.”
Bolton, in a defiant statement, denied any wrongdoing, claiming the charges were politically motivated. “I look forward to defending my lawful conduct in court,” he said. “Now, I have become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those [Trump] deems his enemies.”
His lawyer, Abbe Lowell, described the case as an overreach, saying the documents in question were personal journals kept over Bolton’s 45-year public service career. “Like many public officials throughout history, Ambassador Bolton kept diaries — that is not a crime,” Lowell stated. “These were unclassified personal notes, known to the FBI as far back as 2021.”
Investigators allege Bolton shared some of the material with his wife and daughter.
Bolton was dismissed as National Security Adviser in 2019 after disagreements with Trump over policies on Iran and North Korea. He later published the best-selling memoir “The Room Where It Happened” (2020), portraying Trump as erratic and uninformed on foreign policy. The White House unsuccessfully attempted to block its release, claiming it contained classified information.
The DOJ later opened an investigation into whether Bolton had mishandled classified materials — the same issue at the heart of Thursday’s indictment.
When asked about the charges, Trump claimed ignorance of the case but referred to Bolton as “a bad guy.”
Bolton, who also served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush, is the third prominent Trump critic to face criminal charges in recent weeks. Former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James were indicted earlier this year on unrelated charges following Trump’s public calls for their prosecution.
Bolton is expected to surrender to authorities on Friday, after which a federal judge will decide whether he remains free pending trial.
