Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton pleaded not guilty Friday to federal charges of mishandling classified information, marking the third indictment of a prominent critic of President Donald Trump in recent weeks .
Bolton surrendered to authorities at the federal courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland, where he pleaded not guilty to all 18 counts against him . The charges, brought under the Espionage Act, include eight counts of unlawful transmission of national defense information and ten counts of unlawful retention of national defense information . Following his arraignment, Chief Magistrate Judge Timothy Sullivan ordered Bolton released on his own recognizance. The judge set a deadline of November 14 for pretrial motions and scheduled a follow-up court conference for November 21 .
A 26-page indictment alleges that during and immediately after his tenure as national security adviser, Bolton abused his position by sharing more than a thousand pages of sensitive, diary-like notes with two unauthorized individuals, reported to be his wife and daughter . Prosecutors state he used personal email accounts to transmit information classified as high as Top Secret, which included intelligence on future attacks, foreign adversaries, and covert actions . The indictment further alleges that Bolton stored printed copies of these documents at his home in Maryland . In a message to his relatives cited by prosecutors, Bolton wrote, "none of which we talk about!!!" to which a family member replied, "Shhhhh" .
Bolton and his attorney have firmly rejected the charges. In a statement, Bolton said he had "become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he deems to be his enemies" . His lawyer, Abbe Lowell, argued that the charges stem from personal diaries that contained unclassified information, were shared only with immediate family, and were known to the FBI as far back as 2021 . "Like many public officials throughout history, Bolton kept diaries – that is not a crime," Lowell stated . Bolton vowed to fight the charges, saying he looks forward to defending his lawful conduct and exposing what he calls Trump's "abuse of power" .
The case unfolds amid a tense political climate. Bolton is the third Trump critic indicted recently, following former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James . This has amplified concerns that the Trump administration is using the Justice Department to target political opponents . However, unlike the cases against Comey and James, the investigation into Bolton began in 2022 following the hacking of his email account by operatives linked to Iran . Career national security prosecutors signed the indictment, and the case is seen as having followed a more conventional path than other recent indictments of Trump's foes . When asked about the indictment, Trump told reporters, "I think he's a bad guy" .