Ex-Trump Adviser John Bolton Surrenders Following Charges Of Mishandling Classified Information

Last Updated:October 17, 2025, 22:29 IST

John Bolton, previous Trump National Security Advisor, pleaded innocent to 18 Espionage Act charges for mishandling categorized details, declaring political retaliation.

John Bolton, United States President Donald Trump’s previous National Security Advisor, who later on turned into one of his most significant critics, gave up on Friday on charges of mishandling categorized info

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Bolton, who was arraigned on Thursday, is the 3rd of Trump’s popular critics to deal with prosecution in current weeks, as the United States President ignores decades-long standards created to insulate federal police from political pressures.

Using a dark blue fit and a maroon tie, the previous NSA did not react to press reporters as he got in the court house to give up to authorities. He is anticipated to make a preliminary look before a judge and might need to stop at the United States Marshals workplace for “possible” fingerprinting and booking photo, news agency Reuters reported.

Bolton is charged with 18 counts of retaining and sharing classified information related to national defense in the years following his firing from the Trump administration in 2019 and up through this year.

“The FBI’s 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,” FBI Director Kash Patel stated.

The indictment declared that Bolton shared delicate product with 2 family members for possible usage in a book he was composing, consisting of information from intelligence rundowns and conferences with senior authorities and foreign leaders.

According to the indictment, Bolton shared “more than a thousand pages” of “diary-like entries” throughout his time as Trump’s nationwide security consultant, “which contained info categorized approximately the TOP SECRET” level.

“On other occasions, Bolton used his personal non-governmental email accounts, such as email accounts hosted by AOL and Google, to email information classified” to the person’s individual e-mail accounts, it even more mentioned.

Bolton Pleads Not Guilty

Bolton dismissed the charges as an effort to penalize dissent.

“Now, I have actually ended up being the most recent target in weaponising the Justice Department to charge those he considers to be his opponents with charges that were decreased before or misshape the truths,” he said.

He stressed that his book had been cleared through proper channels.

“My book was reviewed and approved by the appropriate, experienced career clearance officials. When my email was hacked in 2021, the FBI was made fully aware. In four years of the prior administration, after these reviews, no charges were ever filed.”

Charges Against Bolton

Bolton functioned as White House nationwide security advisor throughout Trump’s very first term, before becoming among the President’s most singing critics. Bolton, likewise a previous United States ambassador to the United Nations, explained Trump as unsuited to be President in a narrative he launched in 2015.

The examination of Bolton was opened in 2022, preceding the Trump administration. Inside the Justice Department, the case is considered as more powerful than the prosecutions of Comey and James, according to an individual acquainted with the matter.

The indictment of Bolton, submitted in federal court in Maryland, charges him with 8 counts of transmission of nationwide defense info and 10 counts of retention of nationwide defense details, all in infraction of the Espionage Act.

Each count is punishable by approximately 10 years in jail, however any sentence would be identified by a judge based upon a series of aspects.

(With inputs from companies)

News world Ex-Trump Adviser John Bolton Surrenders Following Charges Of Mishandling Classified Information

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