Report: John Bolton Indicted on Federal Charges

Former Trump adviser faces accusations of mishandling classified information
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 16, 2025 4:13 PM CDT
Report: John Bolton Indicted on Federal Charges
FBI agents carry boxes from former National Security Adviser John Bolton's office in Washington, Aug. 22, 2025.   (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File)

Former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton was charged Thursday in a federal investigation into the potential mishandling of classified information, sources tell outlets including the AP, the Washington Post, and CNN. The investigation into Bolton, who served for more than a year in President Trump's first administration before being fired in 2019, burst into public view in August when the FBI searched his home in Maryland and his office in Washington for classified records he may have held onto from his years in government.

  • Agents during the August search seized multiple documents labeled "classified," "confidential," and "secret" from Bolton's office, according to previously unsealed court filings. Some of the seized records appeared to concern weapons of mass destruction, national "strategic communication," and the US mission to the United Nations, the filings stated.
  • The indictment sets the stage for a closely watched court case centering on a longtime fixture in Republican foreign policy circles who became known for his hawkish views on American power and who, after leaving Trump's first government, emerged as a prominent and vocal critic of the president, the AP reports. Though the investigation that produced the indictment began during Joe Biden's administration, the case will unfold against the backdrop of broader concerns that Trump's Justice Department is being weaponized to go after his political adversaries.
  • Asked about the indictment by CNN, Trump said it was the first he'd heard of it, but added: "I think he's, you know, a bad person. I think he's a bad guy."

  • The move follows separate indictments over the last month accusing former FBI Director James Comey of lying to Congress and New York Attorney General Letitia James of committing bank fraud and making a false statement. Sources tell the Post that the evidence against Bolton is stronger than that behind the Comey and James indictments. According to CNN's sources, the case centers on notes Bolton made to himself in an AOL email account while he was working for Trump.
  • The Comey and Trump cases were filed in federal court in Virginia by a prosecutor Trump hastily installed in the position after growing frustrated that investigations into high-profile enemies had not resulted in prosecution. The Bolton case, by contrast, was filed in Maryland by a US attorney who before being elevated to the job had been a career prosecutor in the office.
  • Questions about Bolton's handling of classified information date back years. He faced a lawsuit and a Justice Department investigation after leaving office related to information in a 2020 book he published, The Room Where it Happened, that portrayed Trump as grossly uninformed about foreign policy.

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