Former National Security Adviser John Bolton, a one-time senior aide turned outspoken critic of Donald Trump, has been indicted on multiple federal charges related to the alleged mishandling of classified information.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced 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 NDI.
According to prosecutors, the 76-year-old former diplomat unlawfully stored and shared highly sensitive material concerning US national defense, intelligence operations, and foreign relations. If convicted on all counts, Bolton could face up to 10 years in prison per charge.
The indictment makes him the third prominent Trump critic to face criminal charges in recent weeks, deepening political tensions ahead of the 2026 election cycle.
Court documents filed in Greenbelt, Maryland, accuse Bolton of using personal email and private messaging apps to transmit national defense information. The DOJ alleges the materials included “details about potential future attacks, intelligence operations, and foreign adversaries.”
Federal agents searched Bolton’s Maryland home and office in August, seizing printed and digital materials. The documents allegedly included diary-like notes from his time as National Security Adviser under Trump between 2018 and 2019.
“No one is above the law,” said US Attorney General Pam Bondi, announcing the charges. “When classified materials are mishandled, it jeopardises American lives and national security.”
In a defiant statement, Bolton maintained his innocence and accused Trump of using the Justice Department as a weapon against political enemies.
“I look forward to defending my lawful conduct in court,” Bolton said. “Now, I have become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he [Trump] deems to be his enemies.”
Bolton’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said the charges stem from personal journals his client kept over a 45-year career in public service.
“Like many public officials throughout history, Ambassador Bolton kept diaries that is not a crime,” Lowell said. “These were unclassified personal notes, shared only with immediate family and known to the FBI as far back as 2021.”
According to Reports, investigators allege Bolton shared parts of the material with his wife and daughter.
Bolton was fired as National Security Adviser in 2019 following policy disputes with Trump over Iran and North Korea.
He later published the best-selling memoir The Room Where It Happened in 2020, which depicted Trump as uninformed and erratic on foreign policy. The White House sought to block publication, arguing the book contained classified material that had not been cleared for release. A federal judge rejected the government’s attempt, and the book went on sale days later.
The DOJ subsequently opened a probe into whether Bolton mishandled classified information the same issue now cited in Thursday’s indictment.
Asked about the indictment at the White House, Trump claimed ignorance of the case but called Bolton “a bad guy.”
Bolton, who also served as US Ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush, is the third prominent Trump adversary to be indicted since September.
In October, New York Attorney General Letitia James was charged with bank fraud, while former FBI Director James Comey was indicted for lying to Congress weeks earlier. All three investigations reportedly followed Trump’s public calls for the Justice Department to prosecute his political opponents.
“We can’t delay any longer it’s killing our credibility,” Trump wrote on social media last month, urging swift legal action.
Bolton is expected to surrender to authorities on Friday. A federal judge will determine whether he remains free pending trial.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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