WASHINGTON – Former national security adviser John Bolton is expected to be charged with violating the Espionage Act,sources familiar with the matter told NBC News,adding to a series of indictments against prominent critics of former president Donald Trump.
Bolton, a vocal opponent of Trump’s foreign policy, especially regarding Russia, had previously faced scrutiny over his 2020 memoir, The Room Where It Happened.He maintained he had fulfilled his legal obligations, presenting a letter from a National Security Council official stating the book contained no classified material.
The anticipated charges come as Trump himself faced indictment in 2023 for allegedly mishandling top-secret documents and obstructing recovery efforts after leaving office, though those charges were later dismissed by Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, in 2024.
Trump has repeatedly attacked Bolton, deriding him with insults such as “lowlife” and “dumb.” Following days into his second term, Trump canceled Bolton’s secret Service detail despite Bolton being the alleged target of a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by Iran’s Islamic revolutionary guard Corps.
Bolton would be the third Trump critic to face criminal charges since late September. Former FBI director James Comey was indicted on charges of making a false statement to Congress and obstruction, and New York attorney General Letitia James was indicted on a bank fraud charge on Thursday.
Both indictments followed a September 20th post on Trump’s Truth Social platform, where he urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against Comey, James, and senator Adam Schiff, D-Calif., stating, “They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done. We can’t delay any longer.”
an governance official told NBC News the post was inadvertently made public and intended as a direct message to Bondi. Comey has pleaded not guilty, and James has denied wrongdoing.
