A fall from the foreign policy mountaintop.
Former national security adviser John Bolton — once a mainstay of the Republican establishment — surrendered to authorities Friday after being indicted on 18 counts for allegedly mishandling classified information.
Bolton, 76, appeared before a federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland, one day after a grand jury charged him with unlawfully hoarding and transmitting sensitive national security files.
Prosecutors say he sent some of the material through a personal AOL email account and to unidentified outsiders while serving in President Trump’s first administration.
More than 1,000 pages were allegedly shared with his wife and daughter, neither of whom held security clearances.
Bolton also used encrypted messaging apps to transfer information — some marked “top secret” — about U.S. military actions and intelligence on foreign adversaries, according to the indictment.
🚨 BREAKING: Disgraced former National Security Advisor JOHN BOLTON just SURRENDERED himself to authorities after facing federal charges related to the Espionage Act and mishandling classified information.
Bolton is absolutely cooked. 18 counts.
He just did the walk of shame. pic.twitter.com/VDDnSistRG
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 17, 2025
This story is developing…