- Former U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton has been indicted on 18 counts under the Espionage Act, including transmission and retention of national defense information.
- The indictment alleges Bolton shared over 1,000 pages of diary-like notes detailing government activities between 2018 and 2025 with two unauthorized individuals, reportedly his wife and daughter.
- Prosecutors claim some information was later accessed by Iranian-linked hackers after Bolton’s personal email was compromised in 2021.
- Bolton’s attorney argued the shared materials were personal diaries containing unclassified information known to the FBI since 2021, and denied any unlawful conduct.
- Bolton, who served as Trump’s national security adviser from 2018 to 2019 before being dismissed, has since become a vocal critic and described the charges as politically motivated.
- Bolton’s indictment is the third in a series of Justice Department prosecutions targeting prominent Trump critics, following similar charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton Charged with Sharing Classified Information
