GREENBELT, Maryland (Reuters) — John Bolton, US President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, was charged on Thursday in a sweeping indictment that accuses him of sharing sensitive government information with two of his relatives for possible use in a book he was writing.

The indictment marked the third time in recent weeks the Justice Department has secured criminal charges against one of Trump’s critics.

The indictment states that the notes Bolton shared with his two relatives in electronic messages included information he gathered from meetings with senior government officials, discussions with foreign leaders, and intelligence briefings.

In some of the chats, Bolton and his relatives — whom the indictment does not identify — discussed using some of the material for a book. Bolton referred to the two people with whom he shared his daily notes as his “editors,” according to the indictment.

“Talking with [book publisher] because they have a right of first refusal!” Bolton wrote in one message, according to the indictment.

The two relatives referred to in the indictment are Bolton’s wife and daughter, two people familiar with the matter said.

In a statement, Bolton said, “I look forward to the fight to defend my lawful conduct and to expose his abuse of power.”

Bolton’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said Bolton did not unlawfully share or store any information.

Trump, a Republican 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........

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