UPDATE: 04:20 PM – Elizabeth MacDonald from FOX Business Network tweeted out that John Bolton was just indicted.
The indictment includes eight counts of transmitting national defense information (NDI) and ten counts of unlawfully retaining NDI.
According to the DOJ, “if convicted, the defendant faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each count of unlawful retention of NDI and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each count of transmission of NDI.”
NEWS Federal grand jury just indicted John Bolton over taking classified U.S. secret DEVELOPING
— Elizabeth MacDonald (@LizMacDonaldFOX) October 16, 2025
Reporter Josh Gerstein reported that an indictment or indictments were returned to the court.
UPDATE: An indictment or indictments were returned to the court. No names were announced. A red folder that could contain arrest warrant(s) was handed to the judge by Sullivan, the lead prosecutor. So we wait…. https://t.co/DxKHasMGbh
— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) October 16, 2025
INDICTED!
Ex-Trump national security adviser John Bolton indicted https://t.co/eIeGrj4VU6 pic.twitter.com/Ubj4uqAIqk
— New York Post (@nypost) October 16, 2025
FBI Director Kash Patel released the following statement:
“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.
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.”
Justice Department Statements Regarding Indictment of Former National Security Advisor John Bolton https://t.co/lrNzDZqzvi @FBIBaltimore pic.twitter.com/yLcEqSjkLF
— FBI (@FBI) October 16, 2025
The Justice Department presented evidence to a federal grand jury in Maryland against former National Security Adviser John Bolton for allegedly transmitting highly classified materials through his private AOL email account during his 2018–2019 tenure.
The investigation centers on documents labeled Secret and Confidential related to weapons of mass destruction, as well as personal notes resembling a diary that may contain additional classified details.
Prosecutors argued that Bolton willfully removed, retained, or transmitted national defense information in violation of sections of the Espionage Act of 1917.
Politico reporter announced on X, “As we await a possible indictment of former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton related to classified info handling, 4 men appearing to be prosecutors and/or FBI agents just arrived at fed court in Greenbelt, Maryland and entered grand jury room.”
JUST IN: As we await a possible indictment of former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton related to classified info handling, 4 men appearing to be prosecutors and/or FBI agents just arrived at fed court in Greenbelt, Maryland and entered grand jury room. GJ at lunch now.
— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) October 16, 2025
He added, “And now separately the top national security prosecutor in Maryland, Thomas Sullivan, arrives and goes into same grand jury room….”
And now separately the top national security prosecutor in Maryland, Thomas Sullivan, arrives and goes into same grand jury room…. https://t.co/0wiM1iHUqz
— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) October 16, 2025
Prosecutors are reportedly moving forward with charges under the Espionage Act, according to MSNBC.
BREAKING: It’s being reported that prosecutors are presenting charges to a Grand Jury against DISGRACED John Bolton today!
The prosecution is allegedly pursuing the ESPIONAGE ACT!
He needs to be IN PRISON for betraying our country! pic.twitter.com/TuuBVxAWC4
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) October 16, 2025
Bolton, who has spent attacking Trump on CNN and in his memoir The Room Where It Happened, is accused of keeping notes, classified memos, and digital files that the National Security Council explicitly warned him to return.
Investigators allege he lied during his debriefing, claiming he had no notes from his White House tenure, only for the NSC to later discover otherwise.
The Biden Administration halted the investigation into Bolton, but FBI Director Kash Patel revived it and ordered the raid on the former NatSec Advisor’s home.
On August 22, 2025, FBI agents executed court-authorized searches of Bolton’s Maryland home and his Washington, D.C. office as part of a federal investigation into possible improper retention, transmission, or loss of classified information.
According to unsealed court documents, agents seized multiple devices, computers, tablets, iPads, flash drives, and cellphones, along with boxes of documents labeled “Trump I-IV” and a binder titled “statements and reflections to Allied Strikes.”
New documents released revealed that John Bolton stored classified information about WMDs and the United Nations.
“Categories of potentially classified records that the FBI reported finding at Bolton’s office included: travel memo documents with a “secret” label; confidential documents from the U.S. mission to the U.N.; confidential documents related to strategic communications; and classified documents related to weapons of mass destruction,” Politico reported.
The search warrant affidavit (partially redacted) references potential violations of the Espionage Act and statutes governing unauthorized transmission or retention of national defense information.
Read the affidavit here or below:
Skip to PDF content
