V062-EEUU BOLTON CARGOS

John Bolton, the national security hawk and former adviser to Donald Trump who has become one of the U.S. president's biggest critics, arrived at a federal courthouse to surrender on Friday (October 17) on charges of mishandling classified information.

Bolton, who was indicted on Thursday, is the third of Trump's prominent critics to face prosecution in recent weeks, as the U.S. president dispenses with decades-long norms designed to insulate federal law enforcement from political pressures.

Bolton did not speak with reporters as he arrived at the courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland to surrender. He is expected to face an initial court appearance later in the day.

Bolton and his team were seen entering the US Marshals Service office to surrender.

The indictment alleges that Bolton shared sensitive information with two of his relatives for possible use in a book he was writing, including notes on intelligence briefings and meetings with senior government officials and foreign leaders.

"I look forward to the fight to defend my lawful conduct and to expose (Trump's) abuse of power," Bolton said in a statement on Thursday.

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

The indictment of Bolton, filed in federal court in Maryland, charges him with eight counts of transmission of national defense information and 10 counts of retention of national defense information, all in violation of the Espionage Act.

Each count is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, but any sentence would be determined by a judge based on a range of factors.

Bolton served as White House national security adviser during Trump's first term before emerging as one of the president's most vocal critics. Bolton, also a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, described Trump as unfit to be president in a memoir he released last year.