WASHINGTON – John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser who became a prominent Trump critic, is expected to soon be charged with federal crimes, according to two federal officials with knowledge of the investigation.
One of the officials said Bolton could be charged next week. The other said he could soon be charged.
Charges would be filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland, where Bolton lives, officials said. MSNBC first reported the development.
Bolton’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Justice Department spokesman declined to discuss matters related to a grand jury.
“By law, we will not discuss any grand jury matters with the media, but this Department of Justice is united as one team in our mission to make America safe again,” the spokesperson said. “And the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General and the entire Main Justice team continue to empower our U.S. attorneys to pursue justice in every case.”
The FBI conducted searches at Bolton’s Maryland home and his Washington, D.C., office in August. A source familiar with the matter told NBC News at the time that the searches were part of a “national security investigation seeking classified records.”
Lowell, Bolton’s attorney, has repeatedly said that the classified-marked documents Bolton kept dated back to the George W. Bush administration, when Bolton served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and would be typical of those kept by a former government employee.
CIA information sparked searches
CIA Director John Ratcliffe provided intelligence information to FBI Director Kash Patel that formed the basis for the search warrant, the source said. Bolton was one of Trump’s national security advisers in his first term before a controversial departure.
The searches focused on Bolton’s handling of classified materials and possible cases of such documents being used in leaks to the media, the source said at the time. They added that it was related to a criminal investigation that began during the Biden administration.
Search warrant affidavits related to the records released last month referenced possible violations of the Espionage Act, including collecting or sharing national defense information without permission and unauthorized possession of classified materials.
Trump publicly called for Bolton to be impeached in June 2020 after the then-former national security adviser wrote an unflattering book about his experience working for Trump.
“He published massive amounts of classified and confidential information, but classified. That’s illegal and you go to jail for it,” Trump told Fox News in an interview at the time.
Bolton maintained that he had met his legal obligations and obtained a letter from a National Security Council official in 2020 that said the book did not contain classified material.
Trump was indicted in 2023 for mishandling top-secret documents and obstructing efforts to recover them after he left office. But federal judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, dismissed the charges in 2024.
Trump’s main critic
Bolton has been an outspoken critic of Trump, particularly on foreign policy involving Russia, in the years since. Bolton also continued to criticize Trump’s foreign policy following the searches.
Trump has also repeatedly criticized Bolton, calling him “low-life” and “dumb,” among other things.
Days into Trump’s second term, the president canceled Bolton’s secret service, even though he was the target of an alleged murder-for-hire plot by a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Bolton would be the third Trump critic to face criminal charges since late September.
Former FBI Director James Comey was charged in late September with making false statements to Congress and obstruction. New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted on Thursday for bank fraud.
Both accusations came after a Sept. 20 post on Truth Social, where Trump urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against the couple, as well as Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
“Everyone is very guilty, but nothing will be done,” the post said. “We can’t delay any longer.”
An administration official told NBC News that the public post was to be sent to Bondi as a direct message.
Comey pleaded not guilty to the charges and James denied any wrongdoing.
