Overview

• A federal grand jury charged John Bolton with eight counts of transmitting national defense information and ten counts of unlawful retention.
• Prosecutors allege he used personal email and messaging to send material classified up to Top Secret and kept diary-like notes and other files at home, including messages to relatives without clearances.
• Justice Department and FBI leaders cast the case as accountability for mishandling secrets, while Bolton has publicly denounced the prosecution as politically motivated.
• The indictment references a 2021 hack of Bolton’s email that he reported to authorities and notes he did not disclose that potentially classified material could have been on the server.
• If convicted, Bolton faces up to 10 years per count as analysts highlight judge-approved searches and seized records that prosecutors say underpin the case.