Former National Security Advisor John Bolton pleaded not guilty in Maryland federal court Friday to eight counts of unlawful transmission of national defense information and 10 counts of unlawful retention of national defense information.

He was released from custody on personal recognizance bond , meaning he did not have to post bail but did have to surrender his passport and pledge not to leave the country.

The next hearing was scheduled for Nov. 21.

In a statement shortly after an indictment against him was returned Thursday , Bolton said the prosecution was engineered by President Donald Trump in retaliation for criticism the longtime national security official had leveled against his one-time boss.

Bolton said the material he used for his 2020 book on his time as Trump’s nat

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