Former national security adviser John Bolton has been criminally indicted on multiple counts related to the mishandling of classified information. The indictment, issued by a federal grand jury, comes as Bolton faces serious allegations of disclosing sensitive U.S. government documents, reports BritPanorama.
Bolton, 76, served in Donald Trump’s first administration from 2018 to 2019 and has since become a vocal critic of the former president. The 18-count indictment accuses Bolton of sharing hundreds of pages of classified material—some marked as “top secret”—with his family members, including his wife and daughter, via email from 2018 through 2025.
The indictment specifies eight counts of transmission of national defense information and ten counts of retention of national defense information. According to the documents, Bolton is alleged to have distributed more than 1,000 pages of classified materials, which included sensitive details on foreign intelligence and covert U.S. operations.
In a statement about the indictment, Trump described Bolton as “a bad guy,” reaffirming his long-held disdain for the former adviser. At a recent press briefing in the White House, Trump said he was unaware of the details of the indictment until questioned, but he did characterize Bolton negatively.
Bolton’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, asserted that his client acted appropriately in handling classified materials. The controversy intensified in August when federal agents conducted searches of Bolton’s Maryland residence and his Washington, D.C. office as part of the same investigation into classified documents. During these operations, agents were observed removing boxes containing records marked with classification references.
Documents seized reportedly involved sensitive topics such as weapons of mass destruction and U.S. government communications. Trump had previously distanced himself from the investigation when questioned about it, stating that he did not wish to intervene and had not directly ordered the searches conducted by the FBI.
This indictment marks Bolton as the third prominent political opponent of Trump to face legal action within a month. He was also implicated in a previous controversy regarding classified information included in his 2020 memoir, The Room Where It Happened, which led Trump to attempt legal action over alleged breaches of a non-disclosure agreement prior to the book’s release.
