John Bolton, who served in Trump’s first administration, faces charges of mishandling and transmitting classified information. Key US politics stories from Thursday 16 October at a glance
John Bolton, a former national security adviser in Donald Trump’s first administration, has vowed to defend his “lawful conduct” after a federal grand jury indicted him on charges of mishandling and transmitting classified information.
The indictment, filed in Maryland, appears to ultimately have been signed off on from prosecutors in the US attorney’s office despite initial reluctance to bring a case before the end of the year.
The 18-count indictment against Bolton involves eight counts of unlawfully transmitting national defense information and 10 counts of retaining classified information under the Espionage Act, according to the 26-page indictment.
The indictment marked the third time in recent weeks the justice department has secured criminal charges against one of the president’s critics and Bolton has accused Trump of abuse of power.
