President Donald J. Trump speaks during a press briefing at the White House with senior officials.

President Donald Trump was informed for the first time that his disgraced former National Security Adviser John Bolton had just been indicted by a federal grand jury in Maryland for mishandling classified information, and Trump’s reaction was classic.

When a reporter broke the news, Trump appeared genuinely surprised.

Reporter: “You were just indicted by a grand jury in Maryland. Do you have a reaction to that?”
Trump: “I didn’t know that. You tell me for the first time, but I think he’s a bad person.”

Trump continued, repeating his disdain for Bolton several times:

“I think he’s a bad guy. Yeah, he’s a bad guy. Too bad, but that’s the way it goes. That’s the way it goes, right?”

When pressed if he had reviewed the case, Trump responded simply:

“No, I haven’t. But I just think he’s a bad person.”

WATCH:

BREAKING: “John Bolton was just indicted by a grand jury. Do you have a reaction to that?”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “I didn’t know that. You’re telling me for the first time! I think he’s a bad person. Too bad.”

“That’s the WAY IT GOES, RIGHT?”

“He’s a BAD person.” pic.twitter.com/QDH4TPFttA

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 16, 2025

Bolton’s indictment follows a months-long Department of Justice investigation into allegations he mishandled and transmitted classified national security materials via his private AOL email server during his tenure as National Security Adviser from 2018 to 2019.

As agents executed search warrants in August at his Maryland home and at his Washington, D.C. office, they seized computers, phones, USB drives, and documents bearing the labels “secret,” “confidential,” and “classified.”

The indictment includes eight counts of transmitting national defense information (NDI) and ten counts of unlawfully retaining NDI.

If convicted, Bolton could face up to “10 years in prison for each count of unlawful retention of NDI and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each count of transmission of NDI.”

Read more:

BREAKING: Disgraced Former NSA John Bolton Indicted by Grand Jury For Mishandling Classified Documents

Jim Hᴏft Jim Hᴏft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016.

You can email Jim Hᴏft here, and read more of Jim Hᴏft's articles here.