John Bolton Indicted by Federal Grand Jury Over Mishandling of Classified Documents

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton — once one of President Donald Trump’s top aides before turning into one of his fiercest critics — has been indicted by a federal grand jury for mishandling classified information, according to multiple reports.

Bloomberg first broke the news Thursday, reporting that the Department of Justice filed criminal charges against Bolton, though the exact counts remain under seal.

A source familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the indictment was filed in Maryland federal court, but details of the charges have not yet been made public.

CNN later confirmed the indictment, citing individuals close to the investigation, and reported that Bolton is expected to surrender to federal authorities as soon as Friday.

According to CNN, prosecutors were investigating whether Bolton had shared “highly classified” national security information with his wife and daughter through personal email exchanges. The network also noted that investigators had focused on handwritten and electronic notes Bolton kept on an AOL account — some of which allegedly contained summaries of his daily briefings and personal reflections from his time serving in the Trump administration.

Bolton, who served as President Trump’s national security adviser from 2018 to 2019, has not publicly commented on the indictment as of Thursday afternoon. The Justice Department has also declined to issue any official statement.

The indictment marks a stunning turn for Bolton, a man once trusted with America’s most sensitive intelligence, now facing prosecution under the very system he helped shape. The case also underscores President Trump’s renewed push to restore accountability inside the federal bureaucracy, especially among those who, in his words, “betrayed the public trust.”