National Security Assistant Bolton, who served as President Trump¡¯s first president, was charged on October 16 local time and prosecutors accused him of sharing sensitive government information with two relatives, allegedly for writing one of his own books.

The prosecution says that between April 2018 and August 2025, Bolton ¡°shared more than a thousand pages of information about his daily activities as a National Security Assistant to the relatives who were unauthorized to contact the secrets, including secret information¡± ¡ª specifically information he obtained from meetings with senior government officials, conversations with foreign leaders, and intelligence briefings.

The two relatives named in the indictment are Bolton's wife and daughter, according to two people familiar with the matter. In response to the allegation, Bolton said in a statement, "I look forward to the fight to defend my lawful actions and expose his abuses." Bolton's lawyers said that Bolton did not illegally share or store any information.

But it was revealed that the investigation into Bolton began in 2022, before Trump regained power.

The indictment has been filed in the Maryland federal court, accusing Bolton of eight ¡°transfer of defence information¡± and 10 ¡°holding of defence information¡± crimes in violation of the Anti-Espionage Act. If the charges are established, each can be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in prison, but the specific sentence will be ruled by the judge based on multiple factors.

When asked by reporters at the White House that day about Bolton's indictment, Trump said,"He is a bad person."