GREENBELT, Md, Oct 18, (AP): John Bolton, who served as President Donald Trump's national security adviser during his first term and later became a vocal critic, was charged Thursday with storing top secret records at home and sharing with relatives diary-like notes about his time in government that officials said contained classified information.

The 18-count indictment also suggests classified information was exposed when operatives believed linked to the Iranian regime hacked Bolton's email account in 2021 and gained access to sensitive material he had shared. A Bolton representative told the FBI that his emails had been hacked, prosecutors say, but did not reveal that he had shared classified information through the account or that the hackers now had possession of government secrets.

The indictment sets the stage for a closely watched court case centering on a longtime fixture in Republican foreign policy circles who became known for his hawkish views on American power and who served for more than a year in Trump's first administration before being fired in 2019 and emerging as a harsh critic of the president.

The investigation that produced the criminal case was well underway when Trump took office again this past January but burst into public view in August when the FBI searched his home in Maryland and his office in Washington Bolton is now the third Trump adversary prosecuted in the last month, meaning the case will unfold against the backdrop of concerns the president is using his Justice Department to pursue political enemies and to spare allies from scrutiny.

He foreshadowed that argument in a defiant statement Thursday in which he denied the charges and called them part of an "intensive effort" by Trump to "intimidate his opponents.” "Now, I have become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he deems to be his enemies with charges that were declined before or distort the facts,” Bolton said.

"The underlying facts in this case were investigated and resolved years ago. 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," Bolton lawyer Abbe Lowell said in a separate statement.

"Like many public officials throughout history, Amb. Bolton kept diaries - that is not a crime. We look forward to proving once again that Amb. Bolton did not unlawfully share or store any information.” The case follows separate indictments over the last month accusing former FBI Director James Comey of lying to Congress and New York Attorney General Letitia James of committing bank fraud and making a false statement, charges they both deny.