Former national security adviser John Bolton, a fixture of the GOP foreign policy establishment in DC for decades, pleaded not guilty Friday to 18 charges of mishandling classified information, one day after a federal grand jury indicted him in the case.

STORY: John Bolton, Donald Trump's former national security adviser, was indicted on Thursday (October 16) on charges of retaining and transmitting national defense information, marking the third time in recent weeks the Justice Department has secured criminal charges against one of the Republican president's critics. Bolton's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His lawyer had previously denied that Bolton engaged in wrongdoing. The indictment, according to court records, comes after court documents made public last month revealed that Bolton was under federal investigation for potential mishandling classified information. Trump, who campaigned for the presidency on a vow of retribution after facing a slew of legal woes once his first term in the White House ended in 2021, has dispensed with decades-long norms designed to insulate federal law enforcement from political pressures. In recent months, he has actively pushed Attorney General Pam Bondi's Justice Department to bring charges against his perceived adversaries, even driving out a prosecutor he deemed to be moving too slowly in doing so. FBI agents conducted a search of Bolton's home and office in August, seeking evidence of possible violations of the Espionage Act, which makes it a crime to remove, retain or transmit national defense records, according to partially unsealed search warrants filed in federal court. In his Maryland home, agents seized two cell phones, documents in folders labeled "Trump I-IV" and a binder labeled "statements and reflections to Allied Strikes," according to court documents. They also found records labeled "confidential," including documents that referenced weapons of mass destruction, the U.S. mission to the United Nations, and other materials related to the U.S. government's strategic communications inside his office in Washington D.C., according to court records. REPORTER (OFF CAMERA): "Mr. President, have you been briefed on the FBI raid of John Bolton, sir.” TRUMP: "No, I don't know about it. I saw it on television this morning. I'm not a fan of John Bolton He's a real — sort of a lowlife. When I hired him, he served a good purpose because, as you know, he was one of the people that forced Bush to do the ridiculous bombings in the Middle East. He, you know, he wants to always kill people, and he's very bad at what he does. But, he worked out great for me because every time he doesn't talk, he's like a very quiet person.” WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FILE - APRIL 9, 2018) (US NETWORK POOL - Broadcast: No use USA Digital: No use USA) 8. (SOUNDBITE)(English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SEATED NEXT TO HIS THEN-NEW NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR JOHN BOLTON, SAYING: "He's highly respected by everybody in this room. And John, I want to thank you very much. This is going to be a lot of work. Interesting day."

On Friday FBI raided the home and office John Bolton, a long-time critic of Donald Trump who served as his national security adviser but later described him as “unfit” for office. In what commentators see as the latest in a series of actions taken by ...

The former Trump national security adviser is making his initial court appearance on federal charges that allege he mishandled classified information.