John Bolton, who served as Donald Trump’s national security adviser before the two men fell out, has been indicted for allegedly sharing sensitive government information with two relatives and for retaining “documents, writings, and notes” containing classified material.

It’s the third time in recent weeks that the Department of Justice has charged one of Trump’s outspoken critics.

According to the indictment, classified information may have been exposed when a cyberactor believed to be associated with Iran infiltrated Bolton’s personal email account and gained access to the material he shared.

The charges are the result of a criminal investigation that started in 2022, when Democrat Joe Biden was president.

Here is what we know:

Who is John Bolton?

John Bolton is an American lawyer, diplomat, and one of Washington’s most recognisable foreign policy hawks – a man whose trademark moustache and hardline worldview have made him both influential and controversial.

He served as Donald Trump’s national security adviser from 2018 to 2019, clashing frequently with the president over diplomacy and military strategy. Before that, he was US ambassador to the United Nations under George W Bush, where he became known for his scepticism towards multilateralism and his belief in US power above all else.

Bolton, one of the strongest proponents for the war on Iraq, repeatedly made the case that Saddam Hussein was a threat not just to the US but also to the wider world, pushing and amplifying claims about weapons of mass destruction and links to al-Qaeda that have since been proven to be false.

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He also championed regime change in countries like Iran and North Korea.

After his turbulent exit from the Trump White House, because of deep policy disagreements with the president, Bolton returned to private life and later became one of Trump’s most vocal critics.

“John Bolton is absolutely a hawk,” Trump told NBC in June 2019. “If it was up to him, he’d take on the whole world at one time, OK? But that doesn’t matter because I want both sides.”

Bolton later published a blistering memoir, The Room Where It Happened, offering an insider’s account of the rivalries and ideological battles that defined his time in the Trump administration.

What are the charges?

Bolton was indicted under the Espionage Act for allegedly mishandling and sharing classified government information.

The law, passed in 1917, is typically used in cases involving leaks, espionage, or unauthorised retention of classified defence material.

According to the indictment:

Bolton sent more than 1,000 pages of “diary-like entries”, some marked top secret, to two of his relatives. The material was allegedly handwritten and electronically sent.

“Bolton used his personal nongovernmental email accounts, such as email accounts hosted by AOL and Google, to email information classified up to the Top/Secret/SCI level to individuals’ personal email accounts,” the indictment said.

“Often, Bolton’s notes described the secure setting or environment in which he learned the national defense and classified information that he was memorialising in his notes,” prosecutors added.

The indictment also states that in July 2021, a representative for Bolton notified the government of a hack into his personal email account, but did not disclose that it contained national defence and classified information.

Bolton, however, said on Thursday that the FBI was “made fully aware” of the breach and noted that “in four years of the prior administration, after these reviews, no charges were ever filed.”

He is also accused of keeping “documents, writings, and notes” – including classified material – at his Maryland home and Washington, DC, office.

According to the indictment, in 2018, the day before he became national security adviser, Bolton allegedly created a group chat with two relatives, writing that it was “For Diary in the future!!!”

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That July, he sent the group a 25-page document, followed by a message cautioning, “None of which we talk about!!!”, according to court filings.

The indictment includes 18 counts – eight for transmitting national defence information and 10 for unlawfully retaining similar material without authorisation. Each count carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

His indictment suggests prosecutors believe the violations were not merely careless acts but systematic and willful decisions, involving both the retention and transmission of national defence information.

In 2023, Trump was also indicted on 31 counts of willful retention of national defence information in violation of the Espionage Act.

How did Bolton respond?

Bolton’s lawyers have denied wrongdoing on the part of their client, saying the information was unclassified or already cleared for publication, and that the charges are politically motivated.

Bolton maintained that his conduct was lawful and accused Trump of using the Justice Department to advance his own agenda.

“I have become the latest target in weaponising the Justice Department to charge those he deems to be his enemies with charges that were declined before or distort the facts,” Bolton said.

“These charges are not just about [Trump’s] focus on me or my diaries, but his intensive effort to intimidate his opponents, to ensure that he alone determines what is said about his conduct,” Bolton said. “Dissent and disagreement are foundational to America’s constitutional system, and vitally important to our freedom.

“I look forward to the fight to defend my lawful conduct and to expose his abuse of power.”

He added that the Justice Department had used his own diary about his time in office, which included criticism of Trump, against him.

“These charges are not just about his focus on me or my diaries, but his intensive effort to intimidate his opponents, to ensure that he alone determines what is said about his conduct.

“Dissent and disagreement are foundational to America’s constitutional system, and vitally important to our freedom. I look forward to the fight to defend my lawful conduct and to expose his abuse of power,” he added.

What’s next?

After being indicted, which means a grand jury formally charged him with a crime, John Bolton will next go through an arraignment, the first court hearing where he will be read the charges and asked to enter a plea. The former NSA is expected to plead not guilty.

According to a report by CNN, Bolton is expected to surrender himself as soon as Friday and appear in federal court in Maryland, but a hearing has not been scheduled.

Because the charges involve classified information, parts of the legal process may take place behind closed doors under national security rules.

The Justice Department has recently brought cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, following demands from Trump.

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Prosecutors have opened investigations into several others among Trump’s frequent critics, including former CIA Director John Brennan, and the US president has pledged that even more probes against his opponents might follow.