Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, has pleaded not guilty to all 18 counts of an indictment accusing him of unlawfully withholding and disseminating national defense information.
Bolton pleaded not guilty Friday morning at a hearing in federal court in Maryland before Chief Judge Timothy Sullivan.
A grand jury indicted him Thursday for allegedly unlawfully transmitting and retaining classified documents.
The indictment charges Bolton with eight counts of unlawful transmission of national defense information, as well as 10 counts of unlawful retention of national defense information.
Seven of the transmissions allegedly occurred during Bolton’s time serving as Trump’s national security adviser in 2018 and 2019, while Bolton allegedly sent another document just days after President Donald Trump removed him from the administration in September 2019.
The indictment accuses Bolton of abusing his position as national security adviser by sharing “more than a thousand pages” of information in “diary-type entries” about his daily activities with two recipients identified only as “Individual 1” and “Individual 2,” who prosecutors say are relatives of Bolton.
Former White House National Security Advisor John Bolton arrives at the United States District Court for the District of Maryland in Greenbelt, Maryland, on October 17, 2025.
Leah Millis/Reuters
Sources told ABC News that the family members referred to in the indictment as ‘Individual 1’ and ‘Individual 2’ are Bolton’s wife and daughter.
The indictment comes on the heels of indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, as Trump continues what critics call a campaign of retaliation against his perceived political enemies.
Federal agents in August. They searched Bolton’s residence in Maryland and the Washington, D.C., office related to allegations that Bolton possessed classified information.
