Former national security adviser John Bolton was indicted Thursday in Maryland on charges of mishandling classified information by allegedly sharing diary entries about his time in the Trump administration with family members.
The indictment makes Bolton the third prominent Trump critic charged in recent weeks, following the indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. All three have denied wrongdoing.
Asked about the indictment, President Donald Trump told reporters he was unaware of the charges but added, “I think he’s a bad guy.”
Bolton Denies Wrongdoing, Calls Case Politically Motivated
In a statement, Bolton said he had “become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department,” quoting Soviet secret police chief Lavrentiy Beria: “You show me the man, and I’ll show you the crime.”
“I look forward to the fight to defend my lawful conduct and to expose his abuse of power,” Bolton said.
Bolton appeared Friday at the federal courthouse in Maryland to be processed. That process could include fingerprinting and the taking of a booking photo, according to court officials.
What the John Bolton Indictment Alleges
The 26-page indictment charges Bolton with 18 counts, including eight counts of transmitting national defense information and 10 counts of retaining it. Prosecutors say he “abused his position as national security adviser by sharing more than a thousand pages of information about his day-to-day activities” with two unnamed relatives, using personal email accounts hosted by AOL and Google.
The alleged “diary-like entries” included information classified up to the Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) level, among the government’s highest classifications.
Prosecutors allege the materials detailed intelligence about:
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Foreign attacks and missile launches;
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Covert U.S. operations;
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Intelligence briefings from senior officials; and
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Insights into what foreign governments knew about potential threats against the United States.
In some cases, Bolton and his relatives exchanged casual remarks about the materials. In one alleged message attached to a 20-page document, Bolton wrote, “Stuff coming to cheer you… up!!!”
Bolton’s Lawyer Says Diaries Were Personal
Bolton’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, rejected the government’s claims, calling the charges unfounded.
“These charges stem from portions of Ambassador Bolton’s personal diaries over his 45-year career, records that are unclassified, shared only with his immediate family, and known to the FBI as far back as 2021,” Lowell said. “Like many public officials throughout history, Ambassador Bolton kept diaries; that is not a crime.”
The indictment says Bolton’s email account was hacked between 2019 and 2021 by a “cyber actor” believed to be linked to Iran. A warning email sent to Bolton allegedly read: “I do not think you would be interested in the FBI being aware of the leaked content of John’s email.”
Federal agents recovered printed and electronic versions of the diary entries during an FBI search of Bolton’s home and office in August.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said after the indictment that “anyone who abuses a position of power and jeopardizes our national security will be held accountable. No one is above the law.”
A Long History of Tensions Between Trump and Bolton
Bolton, who served as Trump’s national security adviser from 2018 to 2019, left the White House after clashing with the president over Middle East policy. He later published the memoir “The Room Where It Happened,” portraying Trump as erratic and uninformed on foreign affairs.
Trump accused Bolton of “illegally releasing much classified information” in the book, calling him “a lowlife who should be in jail.”
None of the material cited in the current indictment appears in the memoir, prosecutors said.
The Justice Department previously sued Bolton to seize profits from the book, claiming it contained classified details and that he failed to complete a prepublication review. Bolton denied the allegations, saying the book went through proper channels.
In 2020, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth rejected the government’s attempt to block publication but said Bolton had “likely jeopardized national security by disclosing classified information,” exposing himself to potential civil and criminal liability.
Part of a Broader Pattern
The Bolton indictment comes amid a wave of Justice Department actions against Trump’s critics, as well as investigations into Trump and President Joe Biden over classified documents found in their homes.
Trump faced criminal charges in 2023 for allegedly mishandling national security documents, though a federal judge later dismissed the case after ruling that the special counsel overseeing it was unlawfully appointed.
In Biden’s case, a special counsel found he “willfully” retained classified records but declined to bring charges.
After Trump’s 2025 inauguration, the administration revoked Bolton’s Secret Service protection, which had been reinstated under Biden following Iranian threats linked to the 2020 drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani, a strike Bolton helped plan.
Bolton now faces potential decades in prison if convicted on all counts.
