US Justice Department is expected to present a case to a grand jury on Thursday seeking to indict former National Security Adviser John Bolton, according to a source familiar with the matter.
This follows after finding documents marked “confidential” in Bolton’s Washington, D.C. office, which reportedly referenced weapons of mass destruction.
It is unclear whether the charges are directly tied to those documents, the FBI conducted a search of Bolton’s home and office in August, citing possible violations of the Espionage Act.
What is the Espionage act?
The Espionage Act criminalises the unauthorised handling of national defense information. Senior Justice Department officials reportedly pushed for swift charges despite internal hesitation from some prosecutors, who believed more investigation was needed.
Ultimately, after further review, prosecutors decided they had sufficient evidence to proceed. Bolton’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, has not commented on the latest developments but has previously maintained that his client did nothing wrong and that the documents were routine for a former official to possess.
Trump allies target critics
If Bolton is indicted, he would be the third prominent critic of US President Donald Trump to face criminal charges in recent weeks. The Justice Department has already brought indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James—both of whom were involved in legal actions against Trump in the past.
Trump, who returned to office in 2024 after a contentious re-election campaign, has made “retribution” a central theme of his second term. He has been accused of politicising the Justice Department under Attorney General Pam Bondi, reportedly pressuring prosecutors to pursue investigations against his adversaries and replacing officials he viewed as insufficiently aggressive.
Bolton, a longtime conservative who served as US Ambassador to the UN and later as Trump’s national security adviser, became a strong critic after leaving the administration. In a memoir released last year, he described Trump as unfit for office. Ironically, Trump himself was previously charged under the Espionage Act for mishandling classified records after leaving the White House in 2021. Those charges were dropped after his 2024 reelection victory.