The Justice Department is planning to seek a grand jury's criminal indictment against former National Security Adviser John Bolton, a major critic of President Donald Trump, according to multiple media reports.

If criminal charges come, they would mark the latest in a string of prosecutions against Trump's perceived enemies. Reuters and CBS News, among other outlets, reported on the plan to seek charges as soon as Oct. 16, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter. The Justice Department and a lawyer for Bolton didn't immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.

The potential prosecution comes after federal law enforcement said in court filings that they obtained documents labeled "classified," "secret" and "confidential" during an August search of Bolton's office.

Bolton served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under former President George W. Bush and was a national security adviser to Trump during his first administration.

In the years since serving under Trump, Bolton became a fierce critic of the president. In 2020, Bolton told USA TODAY that he "probably would have" convicted Trump if he had been a senator during the president's first impeachment trial. Trump was accused in that trial of abusing power by withholding aid to Ukraine to pressure its government to investigate then-former Vice President Joe Biden and his son. The Senate acquitted Trump on that charge, largely along party lines.

Abbe Lowell, a lawyer for Bolton, previously told USA TODAY in a statement that many of the referenced materials were "previously approved" in a review before Bolton published his 2020 book, "The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir."

"An objective and thorough review will show nothing inappropriate was stored or kept by Amb. Bolton," Lowell said.

The Justice Department could be seeking charges similar to criminal allegations that were once laid against Trump. A federal prosecution alleging Trump mishandled classified documents, as well as a separate prosecution accusing him of conspiring to steal the 2020 presidential election, were both dropped after he won the 2024 election.

This story has been updated with additional information.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Justice Department to seek grand jury indictment of Trump critic John Bolton, reports say

Reporting by Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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