WASHINGTON — Former national security adviser John Bolton, a fixture of the GOP foreign policy establishment in DC for decades, pleaded not guilty Friday to 18 charges of mishandling classified information, one day after a federal grand jury indicted him in the case.
John Bolton arrives at the US District Court on Friday, October 17, 2025. REUTERS
This courtroom sketch depicts John Bolton swearing in during his arraignment at the federal courthouse in Greenbelt, Md., on Friday. APThe ex-Trump official was arraigned at the federal courthouse in Greenbelt, Md., hours after jurors handed up the 18-count indictment charging him with unlawfully hoarding and transmitting sensitive national security files.
Bolton, 76, was released on his own recognizance following the arraignment. US Chief Magistrate Judge Timothy Sullivan gave both sides a Nov. 14 deadline to file pretrial motions and set a scheduling conference for Nov. 21.
Bolton departs following his arraignment. AP
Bolton surrendered to authorities on Friday. REUTERSThe indictment stated that Bolton sent some of the classified documents via a personal AOL email account to unauthorized correspondents while serving under President Trump during his first administration.
More than 1,000 pages of detailed notes allegedly were shared with Bolton’s wife and daughter, neither of whom had security clearances.
Bolton also sent Microsoft Word documents transcribed from handwritten jottings detailing his activities in the White House to his relatives via commercial messaging apps, prosecutors allege.
John Bolton leaves his home in Bethesda, Maryland, ahead of his arraignment on Friday, October 15, 2025. REUTERS“From on or about April 9, 2018, through on or about September 15, 2019, on a regular basis, Bolton sent diary-like entries to [his wife and daughter] that contained information classified up to the Top Secret/SCI level,” the indictment read.
That information also included intelligence about US attacks and foreign adversaries, according to prosecutors.
The indictment stated that Bolton sent some of the classified documents via a personal AOL email account to unauthorized correspondents while serving under President Trump during his first administration. REUTERS
John Bolton arrives for his arraignment in Maryland on Friday, October 17, 2025. APClassified information on Bolton’s email was exposed after hackers linked to the Iranian government accessed the AOL account in July 2021, according to the investigators.
Tehran has targeted the former adviser — as well as President Trump and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — for assassination since the death of high-ranking Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a US drone strike in January 2020.
On Aug. 22, FBI agents raided Bolton’s Bethesda, Md. home and Washington, DC office, with investigators retrieving documents related to weapons of mass destruction, the US mission to the United Nations, strategic government communications and secret travel memos, according to court records.
Bolton faces up to 10 years in prison on each count of the indictment. He issued a statement Thursday night claiming he had been singled out for retribution by the Trump Justice Department.
“These charges are not just about [Trump’s] focus on me or my diaries, but his intensive effort to intimidate his opponents, to ensure that he alone determines what is said about his conduct,” Bolton said. “Dissent and disagreement are foundational to America’s constitutional system, and vitally important to our freedom. I look forward to the fight to defend my lawful conduct and to expose his abuse of power.”
