John Bolton, a former Trump adviser-turned-critic who was the subject of an FBI search earlier this year, is expected to face criminal charges in the coming days, according to two federal officials familiar with the investigation.
The charges could be filed as early as next week by the U.S. attorney’s office in Bolton’s home state of Maryland, NBC News reported, citing the two sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
In August, FBI agents were seen carrying boxes from Bolton’s Maryland home and his office in Washington, D.C., as part of an ongoing investigation into whether he mishandled defense records during and after his time as national security adviser.
Detectives were said to have seized documents labeled “classified,” “confidential” and “secret,” in addition to computer equipment and phones from his office, according to court filings unsealed in late September.
It’s not clear what exactly the files contained or why they were marked that way, though Bolton’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, insisted they didn’t indicate any wrongdoing. He claimed that many of the seized materials were “ordinary” and decades-old, from Bolton’s long career in the State Department, as an assistant attorney general and as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
“An objective and thorough review will show nothing inappropriate was stored or kept by Ambassador Bolton,” Lowell said in September.
If Bolton is indicted on charges of breaching national security, he would be the third prominent Trump critic to be criminally charged in recent weeks — a move many have called an open attempt by the president to weaponize the Justice Department against his political rivals.
Last month, former FBI Director James Comey was indicted on charges of lying to Congress and obstruction, and on Thursday, New York Attorney General Letitia James was hit with charges of fraud.
Bolton was appointed as Trump’s national security adviser in the middle of the president’s first term. He served in the position for about 17 months, during which time he frequently clashed with the Trump over Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea before getting ousted in 2019.
Less than a year after the end of his tumultuous tenure, the Republican consultant published a nearly 600-page book chronicling his time in the Trump administration and portraying the president as impulsive and unprepared on foreign policy.
Originally Published: October 11, 2025 at 4:17 PM EDT
