John Bolton, who previously served as national security advisor to President Donald Trump and held the position of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, was charged on Thursday by a federal grand jury in Maryland for allegedly mishandling classified information.
At 76 years old, Bolton becomes the third prominent opponent of Trump to face criminal charges in the past weeks following significant public critique by the president.
The 26-page indictment from the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt charged him with eight counts of transmitting national defense information and ten counts of retaining national defense information.
Bolton is accused of disclosing classified information to two family members during his tenure as Trump’s national security advisor from April 2018 to September 2019 and of maintaining such information at his residence in Bethesda, Maryland, post-tenure.
The indictment alleges that an individual associated with the Islamic Republic of Iran managed to obtain classified information after breaching Bolton’s personal email account, which he used to relay that information to his relatives.
This legal action follows an FBI raid on Bolton’s home and office in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 22, as part of a larger criminal investigation.
Two high-ranking federal law enforcement officials informed NBC News that Bolton is anticipated to turn himself in to authorities on Friday and make a court appearance later that same day.
Bolton maintains his innocence, asserting that he is being targeted similarly to the methods employed by the Soviet Union’s secret police under Stalin due to his vocal opposition to Trump.
His assertion aligns with statements made by former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both of whom were recently indicted in Virginia amid calls from Trump for their prosecution.
“These charges reflect not only his preoccupation with me or my diaries, but his relentless attempts to intimidate his adversaries and to guarantee that he alone dictates the narrative surrounding his actions,” Bolton commented regarding Trump, who has previously faced legal repercussions for mishandling classified documents after his initial term in office.
Trump remarked to reporters at the White House that he was unaware of Bolton’s indictment.
“You’re informing me for the first time, but I think he’s … a bad person,” Trump stated. “He’s a bad guy. It’s unfortunate. But that’s how it goes, right? That’s how it goes.”
If found guilty, Bolton could face up to ten years in prison for each count. However, federal sentencing guidelines suggest a considerably less harsh penalty.
The charges state that Bolton, from 2018 to August 2025, disclosed “over a thousand pages of his daily activities as National Security Advisor — including information concerning national defense classified up to the TOP SECRET/SCI [sensitive compartmented information] level — to two unauthorized individuals” who are his relatives.
Neither of these individuals, identified by MSNBC as Bolton’s wife and daughter, possessed security clearances, according to the indictment.
“Bolton also illegally maintained documents, writings, and notes pertaining to national defense, including information classified at the TOP SECRET/SCI level, at his residence,” the indictment claims.
Bolton is accused of transmitting, using non-governmental messaging platforms like AOL and Gmail, “diary-like entries” containing information labeled as top secret to his family members.
In July 2021, a spokesperson for Bolton informed the FBI that a cyber hacker believed to be linked to Iran had compromised Bolton’s personal email account, as per the indictment.
On July 25, 2021, Bolton received a correspondence related to the breach that threatened to alert the FBI about it.
“This might be the largest scandal since Hillary’s emails were exposed, but this time involving the G.O.P.!” the email asserted, as outlined in the indictment. “Reach out to me before it’s too late.”
The indictment specified that the hacker had “gained unauthorized access to classified and national defense information in that account, which Bolton had previously emailed to Individuals 1 and 2 while he served as National Security Advisor.” However, Bolton allegedly did not inform the FBI about this, according to the indictment.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi remarked in a statement regarding Bolton’s indictment, “There exists only one standard of justice for all Americans.”
“Anyone who exploits a position of authority and endangers our national security will be held accountable. No one is above the law,” Bondi declared.
Bolton’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, stated, “The foundational circumstances of this case were investigated and resolved years ago.”
“These allegations arise from sections of Amb. Bolton’s personal diaries throughout his 45-year career – documents that are unclassified, shared solely with his immediate family, and acknowledged by the FBI since at least 2021,” Lowell declared.
“Like numerous public figures throughout history, Amb. Bolton maintained diaries – that isn’t a criminal act,” Lowell stated. “We anticipate demonstrating once more that Amb. Bolton did not unlawfully share or retain any information.”
Bolton expressed in his own statement, “For forty years, I have committed my life to the realm of American foreign policy and national security. I would never endanger those objectives.”
He remarked, “Trump’s vendetta against me commenced then, continued when he attempted unsuccessfully to obstruct the release of my book, The Room Where It Happened, prior to the 2020 election, and became a rallying point in his re-election campaign. Now, I have become the latest victim of weaponizing the Justice Department against those he perceives as adversaries with charges that were previously rejected or misrepresented.”
Bolton further mentioned that when his email was breached, “the FBI was completely informed.”
“In four years of the previous administration, after these reviews, no accusations were ever pursued,” Bolton stated. “Then came Trump 2, who embodies what Joseph Stalin’s head of secret police reputedly claimed, ‘You show me the man, and I’ll indicate the crime.’
“Dissent and disagreement are fundamental to America’s constitutional framework and crucial to our freedom,” Bolton opined. “I anticipate the confrontation to defend my lawful actions and to unveil his misuse of authority.”
