John Bolton, who served as Donald Trump's national security adviser before becoming a vocal critic of the president, has been criminally indicted on federal charges.
The Department of Justice presented a case to a grand jury in Maryland on Thursday, and they agreed there was enough evidence to indict Bolton, who issued a statement maintaining his innocence.
It comes after FBI agents searched Bolton's home and office in August as part of an investigation into the handling of classified information.
The indictment makes Bolton, 76, the third of the US president's political opponents to face charges in recent weeks. He could face decades in prison.
According to a 26-page indictment filed at a court in Greenbelt, Maryland, on Thursday, Bolton is charged with eight counts of transmission of national defense information (NDI) and 10 counts of unlawful retention of NDI.
Prosecutors accuse him of illegally transmitting top-secret information about US national defense using his personal email and other messaging apps.
These documents revealed intelligence about future attacks, foreign adversaries, and foreign-policy relations, the court papers state.
If found guilty, Bolton could face up to 10 years in prison for each charge. He is expected to surrender to authorities on Friday.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi stated, No one is above the law when announcing the charges.
Bolton contends that the charges are politically motivated, labeling himself as a target of what he claims is retribution by Trump against his critics.
His attorney argues that the incriminating materials stem from Bolton's long-time practice of keeping diaries during his public service, which reportedly contained unclassified information shared only with family and known to the FBI since 2021.
This indictment adds to a landscape fraught with legal challenges facing former Trump officials, prompting discussions about potential weaponization of the Justice Department influenced by political vendettas.
As attention turns to the ramifications of this indictment, figures in both political camps are observing closely how these developments could shape the future American political landscape.
