Former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton pleads not guilty to felony Espionage Act charges
In a dramatic made for reality-TV courtroom appearance on Friday, October 17, former national security adviser John R. Bolton entered a plea of not guilty to 18 felony counts alleging that he improperly shared and retained classified national defense information. According to Reuters, prosecutors allege the charges, brought under the Espionage Act, stem from Bolton’s handling of more than 1,000 pages of “diary‑like” notes and other sensitive materials dating back to his tenure in the White House during Donald Trump’s first presidential administration.
The U.S. Department of Justice indicted Bolton on eight counts of transmission and ten counts of unauthorized retention of national defense information, in his role as adviser during Donald Trump’s first presidential term, according to The Washington Post.
Among the allegations:
- Bolton shared with his wife and daughter via personal email more than 1,000 pages of notes that included classified details of intelligence briefings and foreign‐leader meetings.
- Some of the shared material was reportedly hacked by a foreign actor believed linked to Iran.
- Documents found at his Maryland residence and Washington office during an August 2025 FBI search included highly classified intelligence about adversary plans and covert U.S. operations.
Regarding the allegations against Bolton, the DOJ stated that, “There is one tier of justice for all Americans… Anyone who abuses a position of power and jeopardizes our national security will be held accountable.” Bolton’s legal team contends that the shared materials consisted principally of unclassified diary entries that were known to the FBI as early as 2021, and that Bolton did not unlawfully share or store classified information.
Bolton, a longtime right-wing figure in the Republican party, assumed the office of the third national security adviser during Trump’s first presidential term in April 2018 and served in that capacity until his departure in September 2019. In his 2020 memoir, The Room Where It Happened, Bolton painted a blistering portrait of the Trump presidency, arguing that virtually every major decision he observed was “driven by reelection calculations,” according to CBS News.
Bolton accused Trump of treating foreign policy as a transactional tool and of repeatedly putting his own personal interests above national‑security considerations. Donald Trump tried to to block the publication of Bolton’s memoir, arguing it contained classified material. A federal judge refused the injunction request in June 2020.
Since leaving the Trump White House, Bolton has repeatedly emerged as a vocal critic of Trump’s foreign‑policy style and decision‑making, further souring his earlier alliance with the president. Bolton is on record as saying on multiple occasions that “Trump is not fit for office.”
In his arraignment yesterday, Bolton argued that the charges are politically motivated and amount to an act of retribution. The Courthouse News quoted Bolton as saying, “I have become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he deems to be his enemies.”
The prosecution of John Bolton by Trump’s DOJ under Attorney General Pam Bondi is the latest revenge legal action of Trump using the office of the president to go after his political rivals. Trump’s additional and most recent legal actions taken against his political opponents – and his presidential weaponization of the formerly bi-partisan DOJ – includes the following:
- Former FBI Director James Comey charged with false statements to Congress, and
- New York Attorney General Letitia James indicted on bank‐fraud and false‑residence charges.
The prosecutions of Bolton, Comey and James show an unpresidential-like pattern of the current president of the Unites States going after those that he felt wronged him one way or another. The Wall Street Journal warned of “a retribution campaign” directed at both former allies and adversaries.
For more on John Bolton’s day in court, see the video accompanying this article.
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(Additional sources, The Daily Beast, The Guardian, CNBC)
(Cover photo of John Bolton, Image credit: X)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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