GREENBELT, Md.—Former national security adviser John Bolton pleaded not guilty on Oct. 17 to 18 counts of illegally sharing and retaining classified information.
It alleged Bolton “abused his position as national security adviser by sharing more than a thousand pages of information about his day-to-day activities as the national security adviser—including information relating to the national defense which was classified up to the TOP SECRET/SCI level—with two unauthorized individuals.”
Bolton faces $250,000 in fines and 10 years in prison for each count. The court is expected to hold a status hearing on Nov. 21 and receive a motion briefing by Nov. 14.
In the interim, he is allowed to travel the United States freely but must seek court approval before traveling internationally. Bolton surrendered his travel documents, including his passport, to his attorney in court.
Bolton’s attorney Abbe Lowell told The Associated Press: “These charges stem from portions of [Ambassador] Bolton’s personal diaries over his 45-year career—records that are unclassified, shared only with his immediate family, and known to the FBI as far back as 2021.
“Like many public officials throughout history, [Ambassador] Bolton kept diaries—that is not a crime.”
His indictment came after the Trump administration brought charges against other prominent public figures, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The investigation into Bolton started under the Biden administration. It also followed the FBI’s search of Bolton’s home in Bethesda, Maryland, earlier this year.
“The case was based on meticulous work from dedicated career professionals at the FBI who followed the facts without fear or favor. Weaponization of justice will not be tolerated, and this FBI will stop at nothing to bring to justice anyone who threatens our national security.”
The indictment focused on two unnamed individuals with whom Bolton allegedly shared sensitive information. Both of those individuals were related to Bolton, according to the indictment.
During his time as national security adviser, Bolton allegedly sent them “diary-like entries” on a regular basis that “contained information classified up to a ‘TOP SECRET/SCI’ level.”
The 18 counts against Bolton fall under two categories: the retention and the transmission of national defense information.
The documents involved contained intelligence, including foreign countries’ intelligence and information about covert action conducted by the U.S. government.
For example, the indictment offers this description for one of the documents containing Top Secret information: “Reveals intelligence that a foreign adversary was planning a missile launch in the future; a covert action in a foreign country that is related to sensitive inter-governmental actions; sensitive sources and methods used to collect human intelligence.”
Another document, which was allegedly retained by Bolton, was described this way: “Reveals sources and collection used to obtain statements of a foreign adversary; covert action conducted by the U.S. Government in a foreign country.”
As national security adviser, Bolton had a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility within his home that was approved for processing and storage of classified information. But “at no point,” the indictment reads, was he “authorized to store or transmit classified information on unclassified systems.”
