Former Trump official John Bolton pleads not guilty to criminal charges

John Bolton, former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of mishandling classified information, several media outlets reported.

Bolton, 76, made his first appearance in a Maryland federal court a day after being indicted by a grand jury, becoming the latest Trump foe to face criminal charges.

Former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James have also been indicted on criminal charges in the past month.

Bolton is charged with 18 counts of possession and retention of material related to national defense.

He faces up to 10 years in prison on each count if convicted, although federal sentencing guidelines likely recommend a much lesser sentence.

The 26-page indictment alleges that Bolton shared classified information with two relatives while serving as Trump’s national security adviser from April 2018 to September 2019.

Bolton’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said the former national security adviser did not share or store any information illegally.

“The facts underlying this case were investigated and resolved years ago,” Lowell said in a statement Thursday.

Bolton, in his own statement, said he was targeted because of his opposition to Trump.

The charges, he explained, concern “Trump’s intensive efforts to intimidate his opponents, to ensure that he alone determines what is said about his conduct.”