Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images
Bolton is charged with eight counts of transmission of national defense information and 10 counts of retention of national defense information.
The charges against Bolton, who, like Trump, is a Republican, were unsealed shortly after the indictment was handed to a magistrate judge in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt.
Bolton is the third high-profile Trump foe to be criminally charged in recent weeks after being criticized by the president.
Grand juries in Virginia separately indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges related to allegedly lying to Congress, and New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is accused of bank fraud related to a mortgage on a home she owns in Virginia.
They have denied any wrongdoing in those cases.
Trump was asked about the Bolton indictment by a reporter at the White House.
“I didn’t know that,” Trump said.
“You’re telling me for the first time, but I think he’s … a bad person,” Trump said. “Yeah, he’s a bad guy. It’s too bad. But that’s the way it goes right? That’s the way it goes.”
FBI agents on Aug. 22 raided Bolton’s Maryland home and office in Washington, D.C.
The raids are part of a “national security investigation in search of classified records,” a person familiar with the matter told NBC News at the time.
CNBC has requested comment from Bolton’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell.
FBI agents carry boxes as they exit the building that houses the Washington office of former National Security Adviser John Bolton, in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 22, 2025.
Aaron Schwartz | Reuters
This is developing news. Check back for updates.
Leave a Reply