Former national security adviser John Bolton has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Maryland on charges of improperly handling classified materials after leaving the Trump administration.

The indictment includes eight counts of transmitting national defense information and ten counts of retaining it, alleging that Bolton shared top-secret material with unauthorized individuals and kept classified documents at his home.

Bolton denied wrongdoing, calling the case politically motivated retaliation by former President Trump, while his attorney said the materials were unclassified personal records already known to investigators.

The Justice Department stated that Bolton faces up to 10 years per count, though sentencing would likely be less under federal guidelines, NBC News has reported.

He is expected to surrender to authorities and appear in court in Maryland on Friday.