Washington DC - John Bolton, Donald Trump's former national security advisor, was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury, the third foe of the US president to be hit with criminal charges in recent weeks.

The 76-year-old veteran diplomat was charged by a federal grand jury in Maryland with 18 counts of transmitting and retaining classified information.

The 26-page indictment accuses Bolton of sharing top secret documents by email with two "unauthorized individuals" who are not identified but are believed to be his wife and daughter.

The Justice Department said the documents "revealed intelligence about future attacks, foreign adversaries, and foreign-policy relations."

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Each of the counts carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Asked for his reaction to Bolton's indictment, Trump told reporters at the White House that his former aide is a "bad person."

"I think he's a bad guy," Trump said. "That's the way it goes."

Bolton's indictment follows the recent pressing of criminal charges by the Trump Justice Department against two other prominent critics of the Republican president – New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI director James Comey.

Trump recently publicly urged Attorney General Pam Bondi in a social media post to take action against James, Comey, and others he sees as enemies, in an escalation of his campaign against political opponents.

Trump did not specifically mention Bolton in the Truth Social post, but he has lashed out at his former advisor in the past and withdrew his security detail shortly after taking office in January.

A longtime critic of the Iranian regime, Bolton was a national security hawk and has received death threats from Tehran.

As part of the investigation into Bolton, FBI agents raided his Maryland suburban home and his Washington office in August.