Overview

• A federal grand jury returned an 18-count indictment charging Bolton with eight counts of transmitting and 10 counts of unlawfully retaining national defense information.
• The Justice Department alleged he sent classified information through personal email and messaging apps, including intelligence on future attacks, foreign adversaries and diplomatic relations.
• FBI searches on Aug. 22 of Bolton’s Maryland home and Washington office recovered electronics and documents marked classified, secret and confidential, with some referencing weapons of mass destruction.
• Court filings show the yearslong probe drew new momentum from intelligence reporting that a foreign entity accessed Bolton’s AOL account, a detail cited in redacted warrant materials.
• Bolton and his attorney, Abbe Lowell, deny wrongdoing and say materials were decades old and previously vetted, as the case—assigned to U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang—joins recent prosecutions of other prominent Trump critics.