John Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser, indicted

President Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton was indicted on Thursday by a federal grand jury in Maryland for his handling of classified documents, according to a court filing. Why it matters: Bolton has become a fierce Trump critic since leaving the first administration and has repeatedly warned about the president using the power of the government to target political foes.Driving the news: Bolton's indictment follows a search warrant alleging that he used a private email account hacked by a "foreign entity" and that he wrongly shared classified information. The grand jury charged Bolton with eight counts of transmission of national defense information and 10 counts of retention of national defense information. The latest: Bolton issued a statement in response to his indictment that likened the Trump administration to Stalin's secret police and accused Trump of "weaponizing" the Department of Justice "to charge those he deems to be his enemies."What they're saying: "The underlying facts in this case were investigated and resolved years ago," said Abbe Lowell, attorney for Bolton, who served as a UN ambassador under President George W. Bush, in a media statement."These charges stem from portions of Amb. 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," he added."We look forward to proving once again that Amb. Bolton did not unlawfully share or store any information."State of play: Despite Bolton's clashes with Trump, the administration maintained that its investigation was not politically motivated. Trump denied knowing anything about the indictment while speaking with reporters Thursday afternoon."He's a bad guy," Trump said of Bolton. "It's too bad, but that's the way it goes." Zoom in: Bolton, according to the indictment, kept diary-like entries of his day's activities and shared them with two unauthorized individuals via word processing documents.They contained information up to the "top secret" and "secret/sensitive compartmented information" level, prosecutors allege.On other occasions, he allegedly used a personal, non-governmental email account to share classified information with these recipients. What's next: The grand jury said that Bolton should forfeit any property that "constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to the offenses" if convicted.Catch up quick: The FBI raided Bolton's Maryland home in August during what Vice President JD Vance called the "very early stages of an ongoing investigation." At the time, Vance said he was "not at all" being targeted for being a critic of Trump, who called Bolton "a real lowlife." Flashback: Trump revoked Bolton's security protections in January despite death threats from Iran.Trump's first administration tried to block the release of Bolton's 2020 book, "The Room Where it Happened," arguing that it contained classified information. What we're watching: The Trump administration also indicted former FBI Director James Comey, another critic of the president, in September. Comey was charged with making false statements to Congress and obstructing its investigation of the Russia probe. Some two weeks later, New York Attorney General Letitia James, who successfully brought a civil fraud case against the president, was indicted on charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. She slammed the indictment as "baseless."Trump has called for action against other political opponents, including Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and former Special Counsel Jack Smith, who Trump described as a "criminal."Read the full indictment against Bolton: More from Axios:Bolton likens Trump administration to Stalin's secret police after indictmentHow the Trump-Bolton relationship devolved into chaos and an FBI raidDOJ drops criminal probe, civil lawsuit against John Bolton over Trump bookEditor's note: This story has been updated with details throughout.Julianna Bragg contributed reporting.

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