The FBI has accused the former official of transmitting classified information using personal online accounts<\/p>\n
Former US National Security Adviser John Bolton has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified information.
\nA federal grand jury in Maryland indicted Bolton on Thursday on eight counts of transmitting and ten counts of unlawfully retaining national defense information.
\n\u201cThe FBI\u2019s investigation revealed that John Bolton allegedly transmitted top secret information using personal online accounts and retained said documents in his house in direct violation of federal law,\u201d said FBI Director Kash Patel.
\n\u201cAnyone who threatens our national security will be held accountable,\u201d he added.
\nAccording to the Justice Department, the documents contained intelligence on \u201cfuture attacks, foreign adversaries, and foreign-policy relations,\u201d as well as information about informants and \u201cintelligence on an adversary\u2019s leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n
Justice Department Statements Regarding Indictment of Former National Security Advisor John Bolton https:\/\/t.co\/lrNzDZqzvi @FBIBaltimore pic.twitter.com\/yLcEqSjkLF\u2014 FBI (@FBI) October 16, 2025 <\/p>\n
Federal agents searched Bolton\u2019s home in Bethesda, Maryland, and his office in Washington, DC, earlier this summer. Prosecutors alleged that he retained classified records even after the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) at his residence was decommissioned following his departure from Donald Trump\u2019s first cabinet in September 2019.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
FBI raids John Bolton\u2019s home in national security probe \u2013 media (VIDEO)<\/p>\n
Bolton served as US ambassador to the UN during George W. Bush\u2019s presidency and as national security adviser between 2018 and 2019 during Trump\u2019s first term in office.
\nBolton\u2019s attorney, Abbe Lowell, denied that her client broke the law. \u201cThese charges stem from portions of Ambassador Bolton\u2019s personal diaries over his 45-year career\u00a0\u2013 records that are unclassified, shared only with his immediate family, and known to the FBI as far back as 2021,\u201d Lowell said in a statement.
\nThe former diplomat has become increasingly critical of Trump in recent years, arguing that he is unfit to be president. Trump has called Bolton a \u201cwhack job\u201d and \u201cone of the dumbest people in government.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The FBI has accused the former official of transmitting classified information using personal online accounts Former US National Security Adviser John Bolton has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20609,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t