Bolton was the national security adviser in 2018 and 2019.
John Bolton, who served as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser during the president’s first term, was indicted on Oct. 16 for alleged unauthorized sharing and retention of classified information.
Bolton, 76, faces 18 counts under the Espionage Act, according to the federal indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
“From on or about April 9, 2018, through at least on or about August 22, 2025, Bolton abused his position as National Security Advisor by sharing more than a thousand pages of information about his day-to-day activities as the National Security Advisor—including information relating to the national defense which was classified up to the TOP SECRET/SCI level—with two unauthorized individuals,” federal prosecutors allege in the indictment.
Bolton’s attorney Abbe Lowell told The Associated Press: “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.
“Like many public officials throughout history, [Ambassador] Bolton kept diaries—that is not a crime.”
Bolton, who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush, became Trump’s national security adviser in 2018. Trump fired Bolton in 2019, and they have criticized each other in the intervening years.
Trump responded to news of the indictment from the White House.
“I didn’t know that,” he told reporters.
Trump said he had not reviewed the case against Bolton.
“You’re telling me for the first time, but I think he’s a bad person,“ he said. ”It’s too bad, but that’s the way it goes.”
The indictment focused on two unnamed individuals with whom Bolton allegedly shared sensitive information. Both of those individuals were related to Bolton, according to the indictment.
During his time as national security adviser, Bolton allegedly sent them “diary-like entries” on a regular basis that “contained information classified up to a ‘TOP SECRET/SCI’ level.”
The 18 counts against Bolton fall under two categories: the retention and the transmission of national defense information.
The documents involved contained intelligence, including foreign countries’ intelligence and information about covert action conducted by the U.S. government.
By Zachary Stieber and Sam Dorman
