The U.S. Justice Department is poised to take a dramatic step in its ongoing pursuit of high-profile cases involving the handling of classified information. On October 16, 2025, federal prosecutors prepared to ask a grand jury in Maryland to indict John Bolton, the former national security adviser under President Donald Trump, on charges related to his alleged mishandling of sensitive government documents. If the grand jury returns an indictment, Bolton would be expected to surrender to authorities the following day and make an initial appearance in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter, as reported by Bloomberg and Reuters.
The charges being sought against Bolton reportedly include violations under the Espionage Act, a powerful statute that makes it a crime to remove, retain, or transmit national defense records. This law has been at the center of several recent high-profile prosecutions, including the previous case against Donald Trump himself, although that case was dropped following his reelection in 2024, as noted by Reuters.
Bolton’s situation stands out not just for the gravity of the allegations, but also for the political context in which they arise. He would become the third prominent critic of Trump to face prosecution by the Justice Department in recent weeks, following indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Both have denied wrongdoing and vowed to fight the charges in court. According to The Guardian, these moves come amid what some describe as mounting pressure from Trump—who campaigned for the presidency on promises of retribution against his adversaries—to pursue criminal cases against his perceived enemies.
The investigation into Bolton began during the Biden administration, according to Bloomberg, and has unfolded against the backdrop of shifting political winds. Unlike the indictments of Comey and James, which were brought by Trump’s hand-picked interim U.S. attorney in Virginia, the case against Bolton is being led by Thomas Sullivan, a veteran career prosecutor who heads the Maryland office’s national security section. This distinction has not gone unnoticed by observers, who see it as a potential effort to insulate the case from accusations of political interference.
Federal agents searched Bolton’s Maryland home and Washington, D.C. office in August 2025, turning up a trove of documents marked as classified, secret, and confidential. According to court filings cited by Bloomberg and Reuters, the seized materials included information about weapons of mass destruction, U.S. government strategic communications, and the U.S. mission to the United Nations. In Bolton’s home, agents also confiscated two cell phones, folders labeled "Trump I-IV," and a binder marked "statements and reflections to Allied Strikes." Notably, court records also show that Bolton’s AOL email account was hacked by a foreign entity, although the details of the breach remain redacted from public view.
The Justice Department’s case reportedly hinges on several key factors: whether there was willful mishandling of classified information, the volume of classified material involved, evidence of disloyalty to the United States, and any attempts at obstruction. According to The Guardian, prosecutors weigh these so-called "aggregating factors" carefully when deciding whether to pursue charges under the Espionage Act. In Bolton’s case, the investigation also scrutinized diary entries and private notes he maintained on his AOL account—documents his lawyer, Abbe Lowell, insists are decades old and did not constitute inappropriate handling of classified records.
Bolton has denied any wrongdoing. Through his attorney, he has maintained that he did not mishandle classified material and that the documents in question were either old or properly secured. "The former national security adviser did nothing inappropriate with classified records," Lowell said, as quoted by The Guardian. Bolton’s defense also points to his long government career and reputation as a meticulous note-taker, suggesting that any sensitive material found was either innocuous or retained inadvertently.
For his part, Bolton has been an outspoken critic of Trump since leaving the administration. He served as Trump’s national security adviser from 2018 to 2019 and previously as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush. After departing the White House, Bolton published a memoir, The Room Where It Happened, in which he described Trump as unfit for office and detailed internal conflicts over national security policy. The Trump administration unsuccessfully sued to block the book’s publication, arguing it would endanger national security, but a federal judge ultimately allowed its release. The Justice Department later dropped its civil lawsuit and a related criminal investigation in 2021 under President Biden, according to Bloomberg.
Bolton’s criticism of Trump has not been limited to the written word. In a USA Today interview, he remarked that if he had been a senator during Trump’s first impeachment trial, he would have voted to convict. He has also been vocal about what he sees as Trump’s own mishandling of classified documents, particularly in relation to the Mar-a-Lago case.
The political undertones of Bolton’s potential indictment are hard to ignore. As Reuters reports, senior Justice Department officials have faced internal debate about the timing and merits of the case, with some line prosecutors expressing concern that the investigation was being rushed. In the end, prosecutors reportedly took additional time to review the evidence before deciding to proceed. Trump, meanwhile, has made no secret of his desire to see his critics face legal consequences, having pushed Attorney General Pam Bondi’s department to act more aggressively against his opponents.
The Justice Department’s actions have sparked debate about the boundaries between law enforcement and politics. Some observers see the recent string of indictments as evidence of politicized justice, while others argue that the cases are grounded in legitimate concerns about national security and the rule of law. The fact that Bolton’s case is being led by a career prosecutor rather than a political appointee may offer some reassurance to those worried about undue influence, but the broader context remains fraught.
As of now, Bolton awaits the grand jury’s decision. Should the indictment proceed, it will mark yet another chapter in the ongoing saga of classified information controversies that have dogged both the Trump administration and its critics. With the political climate as charged as ever, all eyes will be on the federal courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland, to see what comes next.
For John Bolton and the Justice Department alike, the stakes could hardly be higher. The outcome of this case may well shape the contours of accountability and executive power for years to come.
