John Bolton, the former National Security Advisor under President Trump, surrendered to federal authorities on Friday, following an indictment on 18 counts related to mishandling classified materials.
🚨 BREAKING: Disgraced former National Security Advisor JOHN BOLTON just SURRENDERED himself to authorities after facing federal charges related to the Espionage Act and mishandling classified information.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 17, 2025
Bolton is absolutely cooked. 18 counts.
He just did the walk of shame. pic.twitter.com/VDDnSistRG
Photographers captured images of Bolton leaving his home in Bethesda, Maryland, and then again once he arrived at the federal courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Bolton was indicted on eight counts of transmitting National Defense Information and ten counts of retaining National Defense Information.
The indictment reads:
From on or about April 9, 2018, through at least on or about August 22, 2025, BOLTON abused his position as National Security Advisor by sharing more than a thousand pages of information about his day-to-day activities as the National Security Advisor—including information relating to the national defense which was classified up to the TOP SECRET/SCI level—with two unauthorized individuals, namely Individuals 1 and 2. BOLTON also unlawfully retained documents, writings, and notes relating to the national defense, including information classified up to the TOP SECRET/SCI level, in his home in Montgomery County, Maryland.
The documents in Bolton's possession were sent to at least two individuals who didn't have the proper authorization to view them.
According to the indictment, the documents contained intelligence about planned attacks by a foreign adversary, details from a partner nation sharing sensitive information with the U.S., a possible future missile launch, and a covert operation linked to sensitive government actions abroad.
The Director of the FBI, Kash Patel, said in a 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.