John Bolton Indicted for Retaining Classified Documents

Written By Lexx Thornton

Former national security adviser John Bolton was indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday, becoming the third prominent critic of President Donald Trump to face criminal charges recently.

The indictment, filed in federal court in Maryland, where Bolton resides, charges him with eight counts of transmitting national defense information and ten counts of retaining national defense information. The charges stem from an investigation into whether Bolton improperly kept classified materials after his contentious exit from the first Trump administration.

The indictment alleges that Bolton “abused his position” during the first Trump administration by “sharing more than a thousand pages” of information about his activities as the National Security Advisor with two relatives who lacked security clearances. This information included material classified up to the TOP SECRET/SCI level. Furthermore, Bolton is accused of “unlawfully retained documents, writings, and notes relating to the national defense” at his home in Montgomery County, Maryland, with some material also classified up to the TOP SECRET/SCI level.

FBI Director Kash Patel stated the investigation found Bolton “allegedly transmitted top secret information using personal online accounts and retained said documents in his house in direct violation of federal law.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi released a statement asserting, “There is one tier of justice for all Americans… Anyone who abuses a position of power and jeopardizes our national security will be held accountable.”
If convicted, the 76-year-old Bolton faces a maximum of 10 years in prison on each count, though the Justice Department noted any actual sentence would likely be much lower, in line with federal sentencing guidelines.

The indictment also mentioned that the FBI’s search of Bolton’s home and office in August was based in part on the “Hack of Bolton AOL Account by Foreign Entity,” which the filing later identified as a “cyber actor believed to be associated with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

President Trump, when asked about the indictment, distanced himself and offered a brief dismissal of his former aide.

“I didn’t know that,” Trump said, adding, “He’s a bad person… too bad, but that’s the way it goes.”

Bolton immediately denied all wrongdoing, calling the charges politically motivated.

Bolton’s Statement: “Donald Trump’s retribution against me began then [during the first administration]… and now, I have become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he deems to be his enemies with charges that were declined before or distort the facts.”

Bolton’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, also denied the charges, arguing that the underlying facts were “investigated and resolved years ago.” Lowell contends the current charges stem from portions of unclassified “personal diaries over his 45-year career,” which were “known to the FBI as far back as 2021.”

The indictment of Bolton follows criminal charges against two other prominent Trump adversaries in recent weeks: former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Senior federal law enforcement sources told NBC News that Bolton is expected to surrender to authorities on Friday and subsequently make an initial court appearance before Judge Theodore D. Chuang later that day.