John Bolton, Donald Trump’s ex-adviser, has become the latest critic of the president to be criminally indicted.
Mr Bolton, who has been one of Mr Trump‘s most vocal critics since being sacked from his first administration in 2019, is alleged to have shared sensitive information with two of his relatives to be possibly used in a book he was writing.
This included notes on intelligence briefings and meetings with senior government officials and foreign leaders.
His is the third case to be brought against a critic of the US president in the past month.
In a statement on Truth Social last month, Mr Trump called on US attorney general Pam Bondi, who leads the department, to prosecute his political opponents.
“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!” Trump wrote.
Here’s who has been indicted by the Trump administration – and the reasons given.
James Comey, former FBI director
In September, James Comey, who served as FBI director from 2013 to 2017, was charged with obstruction of justice and making a false statement to Congress.
Mr Comey was fired months into Mr Trump‘s first presidency, in the middle of an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The criminal case against Mr Comey does not concern the substance of the Russia investigation, but instead accuses him of having lied to Congress in 2020 when he said he never authorised anyone to serve as an anonymous source to a reporter about the investigation.
At the beginning of October, Mr Comey pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In a statement asserting his innocence, Mr Comey said: “My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way. We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either. Somebody that I love dearly recently said that fear is the tool of a tyrant and she’s right. But I’m not afraid and I hope you’re not either.”
He added: “My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system, and I am innocent, so let’s have a trial and keep the faith.”
A judge has scheduled the trial to begin on 5 January. If convicted, Mr Comey faces up to five years in prison.
Letitia James, New York attorney general
Letitia James, was charged on 9 October with one count of bank fraud and one count of making false statements to a financial institution, in connection with a home she purchased in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2020.
The Democrat, who has served as attorney general in New York since 2018, has been labelled “guilty as hell” by Mr Trump – who has not provided evidence as yet to back up his claim.
In a lengthy statement, Ms James vehemently denied any wrongdoing and described the indictment as “nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponisation of our justice system”.
During the president’s first term in office, Ms James sued him and his administration dozens of times.
Last year, she won a judgment against the Trump Organization after she brought a civil lawsuit alleging he and his companies defrauded banks by overstating the value of his real estate holdings on financial statements.
She is scheduled to make an initial appearance in the federal court in Norfolk on 24 October. If convicted, she faces up to 30 years in prison and up to a $1m (£752m) fine on each count, according to Sky’s US partner network NBC News.
John Bolton, former Trump adviser
John Bolton has been charged with eight counts of transmitting classified information, as well as 10 counts of unlawful retention of NDI, the department said.
Each count is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, but any sentence would be determined by a judge.
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Mr Bolton has denied any wrongdoing and said the charges were an effort by the president “to ensure that he alone determines what is said about his conduct”.
“I look forward to the fight to defend my lawful conduct and to expose his abuse of power,” he added.
He made his first appearance at federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland on 17 October to surrender to authorities.
Asked by reporters at the White House about Mr Bolton’s indictment, Mr Trump called him a “bad guy”.
Who else is under investigation?
A number of individuals remain under investigation by the DOJ, but are yet to be charged.
Senator Adam Schiff and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, who are both Democrats, are being investigated for alleged mortgage fraud.
The investigations are being led by Ed Martin, who was appointed by Ms Bondi as a special assistant US attorney to help with mortgage fraud investigations involving public officials.
Both Mr Schiff and Ms Cook have denied any wrongdoing.
In June, Mr Trump ordered the DOJ to investigate Miles Taylor and Chris Krebs, two former homeland security officials who served in the first Trump administration.
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Mr Taylor, who confessed to authoring an anonymous 2018 op-ed which was sharply critical of the president, has fought back against the investigation into his government service, calling on government watchdogs to investigate if the order came from Mr Trump.
While Mr Krebs, who is a former top cybersecurity official, said the order targeting him sets a “scary precedent”. He said that is why he has decided to call on the inspectors general to investigate.
