John Bolton, a former Trump administration national security adviser, pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges of storing top secret documents at his home and sharing classified information.

Bolton, who has become a vocal critic of US President Donald Trump, appeared in court in Greenbelt, Maryland, on Friday to hear the charges.

Bolton, who has signaled he will argue that Trump is targeting him as part of an "effort to intimidate opponents," was released after the court appearance.

What are the charges against John Bolton?

Bolton was indicted on Thursday with retention and transmission of national defense information. The indictment alleges that he shared more than 1,000 pages of information about government activities with relatives.

Bolton served as national security adviser for more than a year during Trump's first term in office. He was fired in 2019 and has since become a prominent critic of the president.

FBI agents searched Bolton's home in August as part of an investigation into the potential mishandling of classified documents.

Bolton's lawyer said his client "did not unlawfully share or store any information."

"These charges stem from portions of Ambassador Bolton's personal diaries over his 45-year career — records that are unclassified, shared only with his immediate family and known to the FBI as far back as 2021," attorney Abbe Lowell told The Associated Press.

"Like many public officials throughout history, Amb. Bolton kept diaries — that is not a crime."

What else do we know about Bolton's indictment?

The indictment was filed in federal court in Maryland, where Bolton's house was searched over the summer. It charges the former adviser with eight counts of transmission of national defense information and 10 counts of retention of national defense information, all in violation of the Espionage Act.

Should he be convicted, each of the counts is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. 

Prosecutors said in the indictment that between April 2018 and August 2025, Bolton shared over a thousand pages of information about his day-to-day activities as national security adviser with two unauthorized people. The shared documents included top secret information.

The indictment did not reveal the names of the recipients.

Classified information was accessed via a "cyber actor" tied to the Iranian government who hacked Bolton's personal email in 2021, according to the indictment. It added that a Bolton representative had reported the hack but did not mention that he stored classified information in the personal email account.

How did Trump react to the indictment?

President Trump was informed of the news while addressing members of the press in the Oval Office.

He said he hadn't known about it but then criticized his former national security adviser.

"I think he's a bad person," Trump said. "He's a bad guy."

He added, "That's the way it goes, right?"

Bolton, known for his hawkish stances particularly toward Iran, has been very vocal in his criticism of the US leader. In a memoir released last year, Bolton described him as unfit to be president.

Bolton is the third Trump critic to be hit with criminal charges in recent weeks, following New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI director James Comey.

Edited by: Zac Crellin and Karl Sexton