Bolton, a former Trump adviser, appeared for an arraignment in a federal court, where he faces 18 criminal counts.
Former United States National Security Adviser John Bolton has pleaded not guilty to federal charges over his handling of classified information.
On Friday, Bolton surrendered to authorities at the federal courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland, where he also delivered his plea.
He faces eight counts of transmitting national defence information and 10 counts of unlawfully retaining such information, each with the potential for 10 years in prison. If found guilty, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Bolton has served under four Republican presidents: He was an assistant attorney general under Ronald Reagan, a diplomat under George HW Bush, an ambassador to the United Nations under George W Bush and a national security adviser for Donald Trump.
But it is his relationship with Trump that has raised concerns that his prosecution could be politically motivated.
Questions of retaliation
Bolton’s indictment is the third in a series of charges unveiled against prominent Trump critics since the president replaced the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia
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