A federal grand jury in Maryland has reportedly indicted former national security adviser John Bolton.
Two sources told CNN that Bolton is being indicted for allegedly sharing classified information with his wife and daughter over email.
Sources previously told CNN that part of the Justice Department’s investigation centers around notes he was making to himself in an AOL email account — at times writing summaries of his activities like diary entries — when he was working for Trump.
FBI agents executed a search warrant on Bolton’s Maryland home and Washington, DC, office this summer. The agents seized multiple documents labeled “secret,” “confidential,” and “classified,” including some about weapons of mass destruction, according to court records.
Bolton’s alleged mishandling of documents dates back to his government roles prior to his work in the first Trump administration. The investigation focused partly on notes Bolton made to himself in a private AOL email account.
John Bolton, President Trump’s former national security advisor has been indicted according to two CNN sources. The sources say Bolton is accused of sharing high classified information with his wife and daughter over email pic.twitter.com/uirDQTq6ZY
— Daniel Burbank (@DanielBurbankTV) October 16, 2025
Bolton is expected to turn himself in by Friday.
FBI searches of Bolton’s Maryland home turned up several documents marked as “confidential” and related to national security topics such as weapons of mass destruction. Bolton has repeatedly denied unlawfully taking classified documents.
Bolton has accused the Trump administration of targeting him for political reasons and denied any wrongdoing.
🚨 JUST IN: John Bolton is expected to surrender himself to authorities as soon as TOMORROW after being indicted by a federal grand jury🔥pic.twitter.com/y3BDNbgGi3
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 16, 2025
Bolton has been an ardent critic of President Trump since he left the administration in 2019. The feud escalated after he published his memoir titled “The Room Where It Happened,” in which he suggested that Trump was “unfit” to be president.
President Trump reacted to news of the indictment, saying, "I think he's a bad person. Too bad."
BREAKING: President Trump just responded to the news that John Bolton has been indicted by a gran jury!
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 16, 2025
"I didn't know that. You're telling me for the first time! I think he's a bad person. Too bad." pic.twitter.com/QlGR2EDQoS
He slammed Trump’s foreign policy on issues like North Korea, Russia, and Afghanistan. He was one of the top critics lashing out at Trump after the FBI raided his home at Mar-a-Lago over classified documents. The former advisor said Trump was “reckless” for keeping the documents.
Trump has mocked Bolton publicly on multiple occasions, referring to him as a “lowlife” and “unpatriotic.”
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