The Megyn Kelly Show - October 17, 2025


John Bolton Indicted, Jack Smith Speaks Out, Jay Jones Addresses Violent Texts： AM Update 10⧸17


Episode Stats

Length

21 minutes

Words per Minute

154.28258

Word Count

3,372

Sentence Count

193

Misogynist Sentences

1

Hate Speech Sentences

1


Summary

Former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton indicted on charges relating to improper possession of classified materials. A longtime State Department advisor arrested, accused of hiding federal secrets in his basement and meeting with Chinese officials. A possible real life spy story playing out in Washington.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Every child deserves to splash, to laugh, to share adventures with friends, to feel like they belong.
00:00:10.900 But for some, that joy comes with a price tag that's beyond their reach.
00:00:15.440 Help the YMCA bring its transformative programs to those who can't afford them.
00:00:20.160 Because connections, cannonballs, and confidence should never be out of reach.
00:00:27.060 Donate today to your local YMCA.
00:00:30.000 Good morning, everyone. I'm Megyn Kelly.
00:00:34.920 It's a busy Friday, October 17th, 2025, and this is your AM Update.
00:00:40.780 I think he's a bad guy. Yeah, he's a bad guy. He's too bad, but it's the way it goes.
00:00:46.240 Former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton indicted on charges relating to improper possession of classified materials.
00:00:54.140 A longtime State Department advisor arrested, accused of hiding federal secrets in his basement and meeting with Chinese officials.
00:01:02.960 A possible real-life spy story playing out in Washington.
00:01:06.660 The idea that politics played a role in who worked on that case or who got chosen is ludicrous.
00:01:12.620 Former Special Counsel Jack Smith stepping back into the spotlight, saying politics has no place in the DOJ.
00:01:20.660 Uh, okay.
00:01:22.700 And Democrat Jay Jones and Republican Jason Meares face off in a fiery debate for the Virginia Attorney General position.
00:01:30.300 Jones is finally made to answer for his string of violent text messages.
00:01:34.160 All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.
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00:02:48.640 Former Trump National Security Advisor turned top Trump critic John Bolton indicted on Thursday by a Maryland grand jury on 18 counts.
00:02:59.420 Eight counts of transmission of national defense information, or NDI, and 10 counts of unlawful retention of NDI, each count carrying up to 10 years in prison.
00:03:10.040 The FBI searching Bolton's Maryland home and D.C. office in August, reportedly seizing multiple classified documents.
00:03:16.880 Upon leaving the Trump administration in 2019, Bolton writing a highly critical book on his former boss titled The Room Where It Happened.
00:03:26.540 The Trump administration unsuccessfully suing to stop publication of that book, alleging it contained classified information.
00:03:34.020 Bolton maintaining the book went through a pre-publication review and was cleared for publishing.
00:03:38.840 According to the indictment, while serving as National Security Advisor to President Trump, Bolton allegedly sent classified information to two unidentified family members,
00:03:49.560 believed to be his wife and daughter, who did not have security clearances, via an AOL email account, a Gmail account, and an unspecified messaging app.
00:03:59.700 1,000 pages of diary notes about his day-to-day activities with entries the feds say reflect his knowledge that he was disclosing government secrets,
00:04:10.540 such as, quote,
00:04:11.660 The intel briefer said, end quote, end quote,
00:04:15.220 While in the situation room, I learned, end quote.
00:04:19.220 The indictment alleging, quote,
00:04:20.560 On a regular basis, Bolton sent diary-like entries to individuals one and two
00:04:25.160 that contained information classified up to top-secret level.
00:04:29.560 One email allegedly teasing, quote,
00:04:31.800 More stuff coming!
00:04:33.380 None of which we talk about!
00:04:35.400 Prompting the response,
00:04:36.980 Shhh!
00:04:37.860 from Individual One.
00:04:39.820 According to the DOJ,
00:04:41.200 one day before Bolton began as National Security Advisor in 2018,
00:04:46.040 Individual One creating a group chat on a different platform,
00:04:50.260 containing Bolton and Individual Two.
00:04:52.960 Quote,
00:04:53.520 Individual Two asked the group,
00:04:55.400 Why are we using this now, the encryption?
00:04:57.920 To which Individual One responded,
00:05:00.060 Yup, why not?
00:05:01.680 Bolton then responded,
00:05:03.080 For diary!
00:05:03.820 In the future!
00:05:04.900 Three exclamation points.
00:05:07.040 Prosecutors also alleging after Bolton left the government,
00:05:10.240 Bolton believed a suspected Iranian hacker
00:05:12.780 had gained unauthorized access to his email account.
00:05:16.740 A representative for Bolton reporting the hack to the feds in July 2021,
00:05:21.080 long after Bolton's time as National Security Advisor,
00:05:24.740 but not informing them of the classified information stored in the account.
00:05:30.040 That representative later reporting to the FBI a bizarre update that Mr. Bolton was
00:05:36.440 taunted by his hacker, who wrote to Bolton on July 25th, 2021,
00:05:41.280 I do not think you would be interested in the FBI being aware of the leaked content of John's email,
00:05:48.620 some of which have been attached.
00:05:50.600 This could be the biggest scandal since Hillary's emails were leaked,
00:05:53.840 but this time on the GOP side.
00:05:56.200 Contact me before it's too late.
00:05:58.020 Even after the threatening email, the indictment alleging,
00:06:01.680 at no point did Bolton tell the FBI that while he was the National Security Advisor,
00:06:07.600 he had used the hacked email account to send individuals one and two documents
00:06:11.760 relating to the national defense, including classified information.
00:06:15.720 Nor did he tell the FBI that the hackers now had this information.
00:06:19.600 Trump critics, quick to point out that this is the third recent indictment
00:06:23.040 of one of the president's perceived political enemies, including James Comey and Letitia James.
00:06:28.740 However, in August, the New York Times reporting that the probe into Mr. Bolton,
00:06:32.760 quote, began to pick up momentum during the Biden administration.
00:06:37.140 President Trump yesterday was asked about his reaction to the indictment.
00:06:41.200 I didn't know that you tell me for the first time, but I think he's, you know, a bad person.
00:06:45.940 I think he's a bad guy.
00:06:48.540 Yeah, he's a bad guy.
00:06:49.820 He's too bad, but it's the way it goes.
00:06:52.000 Late yesterday, Bolton issuing a statement that begins not with a denial,
00:06:57.180 but with a general statement about his character, quote,
00:07:00.460 for four decades, I have devoted my life to America's foreign policy and national security.
00:07:05.400 I would never compromise those goals.
00:07:08.260 He goes on, quote,
00:07:09.760 now I have become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those
00:07:14.380 Trump deems to be his enemies with charges that were declined before or distort the facts.
00:07:20.080 Fact check.
00:07:21.260 These charges were not declined before.
00:07:24.180 The controversy in 2020 was about his book, not his emails, about which the Trump administration
00:07:29.860 was apparently in the dark.
00:07:32.360 Bolton goes on to note that his book was ultimately approved, adding, quote,
00:07:36.040 When my email was hacked in 2021, the FBI was made fully aware, end quote.
00:07:42.800 Actually, while the FBI was told that Bolton had been hacked, the DOJ claims Bolton failed
00:07:49.220 to tell the feds that he had been using that hacked email to send classified information.
00:07:55.320 Bolton ends his statement by describing his conduct as lawful while attacking President Trump,
00:08:00.860 who he says, quote, embodies what Joseph Stalin's head of secret police once said,
00:08:05.840 You show me the man and I'll show you the crime.
00:08:08.720 Adding, quote,
00:08:09.560 These charges are not just about his focus on me or my diaries,
00:08:13.020 but his intensive effort to intimidate his opponents.
00:08:16.840 Notably missing from the Bolton statement,
00:08:19.700 a denial that he kept or forwarded classified material while he was national security advisor.
00:08:26.100 CNN reporting, Bolton is expected to surrender to authorities later today.
00:08:33.080 A longtime State Department advisor arrested over the weekend,
00:08:37.280 accused of illegally stashing classified documents and meeting with Chinese officials.
00:08:43.020 Ashley Tellis, an unpaid senior advisor to the State Department and contractor
00:08:47.720 with the Pentagon's Office of Net Assessment,
00:08:51.060 reportedly holding a top-secret clearance,
00:08:53.180 allegedly kept more than 1,000 documents with top-secret and secret markings
00:08:58.020 stashed across two cabinets, a desk,
00:09:01.500 and three trash bags in the basement of his Virginia home,
00:09:05.460 according to an FBI affidavit.
00:09:07.820 The DOJ referring to Tellis as a subject matter expert on Indian and South Asian affairs,
00:09:13.500 per Fox News.
00:09:14.940 Tellis is also a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace,
00:09:18.980 that organization announcing he has since been placed on administrative leave.
00:09:23.980 Prosecutors stopping short of alleging he passed classified intel to Beijing,
00:09:28.760 but the affidavit describing plenty of spy movie material.
00:09:32.820 Investigators say they've been monitoring Tellis for years,
00:09:36.140 observing him dining with Chinese officials at least four times, dating back to 2022.
00:09:42.000 At one dinner, Tellis carrying a manila envelope,
00:09:44.740 the affidavit noting he did not appear to have it with him when he left.
00:09:48.940 At another dinner just last month,
00:09:50.880 Chinese officials allegedly presenting Tellis with a red gift bag.
00:09:55.140 In one 2023 dinner, authorities saying Tellis was overheard discussing
00:09:59.680 Iran-Chinese relations and emerging technologies.
00:10:03.800 Tellis also accused of printing Air Force documents containing information
00:10:07.440 about aircraft capabilities.
00:10:10.140 On Tuesday, Tellis appearing in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia.
00:10:13.740 charged with unlawful retention of national defense information,
00:10:18.040 which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
00:10:23.740 The judge ordering Tellis' detention until his next hearing set for October 21st.
00:10:29.820 U.S. Attorney Lindsay Halligan releasing a statement,
00:10:32.360 quote,
00:10:32.480 We are fully focused on protecting the American people from all threats, foreign and domestic.
00:10:37.660 The charges, as alleged in this case, represent a grave risk to the safety and security of our citizens.
00:10:42.980 The facts and the law in this case are clear,
00:10:45.220 and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served.
00:10:48.920 The legal team representing Tellis also releasing a statement that reads they will,
00:10:53.220 quote,
00:10:53.240 Be vigorously contesting the allegations brought against him,
00:10:56.740 specifically any insinuation of his operating on behalf of a foreign adversary.
00:11:03.460 Coming up, former Special Counsel Jack Smith stepping into the spotlight to say
00:11:07.800 politics has no place in the DOJ,
00:11:11.200 as Republicans in Congress look into his handling of the Trump prosecutions.
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00:12:28.100 Former special counsel Jack Smith,
00:12:30.240 the notoriously tight-lipped former prosecutor who led the federal criminal cases against then-candidate
00:12:35.440 Donald Trump, injecting himself into the spotlight.
00:12:38.560 Smith sitting down earlier this week in London with Andrew Weissman,
00:12:42.800 who was the lead prosecutor under special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe that dominated news coverage during Trump's first term.
00:12:51.020 During the interview, Smith assuring Weissman his team was entirely apolitical,
00:12:56.500 and the DOJ never operates with a political motive.
00:12:59.680 These are people who are not self-promoters.
00:13:04.180 They do not like to tell their own story.
00:13:06.920 They cannot start a sentence with I.
00:13:09.320 They start that with we.
00:13:11.240 These are team players who don't want anything but to do good in the world.
00:13:14.840 They're not interested in politics.
00:13:16.420 And I get very concerned when I see how easy it is to demonize these people for political ends,
00:13:24.340 when these are the very sort of people I think we should be celebrating.
00:13:28.100 The people on my special counsel team were like that.
00:13:30.620 The idea that politics played a role in who worked on that case or who got chosen is ludicrous.
00:13:36.560 And Andrew, you know, and this is another thing that I think if you're not inside the U.S. Department of Justice,
00:13:43.040 the idea that politics would play a role in big cases like this, it's absolutely ludicrous,
00:13:49.980 and it's totally contrary to my experience as a prosecutor.
00:13:54.260 That comment appearing to contradict much of the public reporting about the investigations into Donald Trump,
00:14:00.100 with President Biden making it perfectly clear to top advisors he wanted Trump prosecuted.
00:14:06.040 According to the New York Times, in April of 2022, quote,
00:14:12.040 as recently as late last year, Mr. Biden confided to his inner circle
00:14:16.140 that he believed former President Donald J. Trump was a threat to democracy and should be prosecuted.
00:14:22.740 Later that year, after that very public report,
00:14:25.960 Garland appointing Jack Smith to oversee two criminal investigations into Mr. Trump.
00:14:32.120 Additionally, the New York Post reporting in August 2023, quote,
00:14:36.040 Biden staffers met with special counsel Jack Smith's aide before Trump indictment,
00:14:41.580 referencing the classified documents at Mar-a-Lago case.
00:14:45.040 Weissman offering Smith an opportunity to explain why Trump was indicted for
00:14:49.060 mishandling classified documents when President Biden, gee, was not, despite similar fact patterns.
00:14:55.820 One of the major differences between the two cases is the obstructive conduct in the case that I investigated.
00:15:02.960 You need to show that you possess the documents or the defendant possessed the documents willfully.
00:15:09.920 And that means he knew what he was doing was wrong and he knew he was possessing the documents.
00:15:15.560 In my particular case, we had tons of evidence of willfulness.
00:15:19.780 We had in the obstructive evidence publicly saying these are my documents or things like that and I can keep them.
00:15:26.820 And then after the investigation started, still refusing to give them back and then trying to obstruct the investigation.
00:15:31.920 That helps prove willfulness.
00:15:33.940 That sort of evidence didn't exist in the other case.
00:15:36.160 I think special counsel Hur said that the documents that he most likely could bring a prosecution on were over 15 years old and dealt exclusively with the conflict that had ended in Afghanistan.
00:15:47.900 There were a number of differences between the case.
00:15:50.100 And that is what the rule of law wants, is to have situations where different factual outcomes, different levels of proof can result in different outcomes.
00:15:58.840 And that's what I think happened here.
00:16:01.000 Smith ultimately resigning just weeks before Mr. Trump's return to the White House.
00:16:05.460 Smith's dismantled cases are now under scrutiny for potential prosecutorial misconduct by both the Senate and House Judiciary Committees.
00:16:14.480 Weissman on MSNBC encouraging viewers to listen to his entire conversation with Jack Smith and show him some sympathy.
00:16:22.240 For people watching this, I would encourage them to sort of sit down and listen to the whole thing.
00:16:28.400 Because in many ways, what's more important than the substance is I think you get a sense of the man and the person.
00:16:37.720 He came across to me as extremely heartfelt and sincere.
00:16:43.800 I think he's clearly been through a lot.
00:16:46.820 One might argue President Trump also went through a lot.
00:16:50.180 Facing down multiple indictments and the threat of hundreds of years in prison.
00:16:55.200 Do we have sympathy for him, Andrew?
00:16:59.800 Democrat candidate for Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones squaring off against Republican incumbent Jason Meares in the only debate of the election cycle.
00:17:09.600 Jones defending himself in the wake of a texting scandal first reported by National Review two weeks ago.
00:17:15.120 In 2022, Jones sending messages to Virginia GOP House Delegate Cary Coiner in which he openly wishes former Republican Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert would, quote, get two bullets to the head.
00:17:28.280 Jones later suggesting on a phone call to Coiner that he wished Gilbert's wife could watch her own children die in her arms so that Gilbert might reconsider his political views.
00:17:38.000 Democrat candidate for governor, Abigail Spanberger, condemning the texts but stopping short of calling for Jones to withdraw or from withdrawing her own endorsement of him.
00:17:48.940 In fact, not a single prominent Democrat calling for Jones to drop out since those text messages were reported.
00:17:55.580 Jones last night saying he's sorry for the texts and then came the following exchange.
00:18:00.840 Why should voters trust your judgment moving forward?
00:18:03.680 Well, look, Brett, I want to say one thing.
00:18:04.980 Jason Meares can't prosecute a case against Donald Trump, that's for sure.
00:18:08.380 And I will also say this.
00:18:09.320 I was held accountable by my party, and I deeply, deeply respect that.
00:18:13.540 But what about when Donald Trump used incendiary language to incite a riot to try to overturn an election here in this country?
00:18:19.060 What about when Winsome Sears used violent language about people who disagree with you and her and your extreme position on abortion?
00:18:24.820 What about when John Reed shared Nazi porn?
00:18:27.280 You haven't said a word.
00:18:28.660 I've taken accountability for my mistakes.
00:18:30.480 It's time you take accountability, too.
00:18:31.980 And let me ask this one more time, Delegate Jones, just so we're clear and the voters understand, why do you think they should trust your judgment based upon these two events that we've discussed?
00:18:41.360 I've taken accountability for my mistakes, and I know that people in Virginia right now demand and deserve leaders who accept when they make mistakes and can acknowledge that and have been held accountable.
00:18:51.480 This job right now demands someone who will hold Donald Trump accountable.
00:18:55.840 For the last nine months, Jason's had 50 chances to sue the administration, to protect us, to protect our workers, to protect our health care, to protect our K-12 funding, funding for law enforcement.
00:19:05.360 And his office hasn't done a thing because he's too weak and too scared to stand up to the president.
00:19:09.880 So voters should trust him because he'll sue Donald Trump?
00:19:14.220 Miera is making the text messages his central focus, challenging Jones directly on what accountability means.
00:19:22.140 And I find it a little bit stunning that today you say one of the pillars of your public safety platform is protecting children.
00:19:28.340 Were you protecting Jennifer's children when you said you wanted to see them die in their mother's arms?
00:19:33.160 How can anybody who's ever worked in any of the crimes against children, all of the areas of federal and state local law department, how can they ever take you seriously, be the top prosecutor, knowing that you view that children should die to advance a political agenda?
00:19:48.020 It's unconscionable, and if you were truly sorry, you would not be running for this office because you disqualified yourself.
00:19:54.640 Election Day is November 4th.
00:19:56.940 Jake Harrow, the 32-year-old father of missing baby Emanuel Harrow, pleading guilty yesterday to second-degree murder, assault causing bodily harm to a child, and filing a false report.
00:20:11.580 Mother Rebecca Harrow, 41 years old, pleading not guilty to an updated criminal complaint, the details of which have not been released.
00:20:19.040 Seven-month-old Emanuel originally reported missing on August 14th by his mother, who said he was kidnapped from a store parking lot by an unknown person who allegedly knocked her out.
00:20:31.420 Investigators quickly honing in on the parents following inconsistencies in their stories, seizing their vehicle and electronic devices.
00:20:39.580 Police arresting Jake and Rebecca just over one week after their son was first reported missing.
00:20:45.200 Baby Emanuel's body has not yet been recovered.
00:20:47.740 Jake's sentencing is set for November 3rd.
00:20:50.880 Rebecca is scheduled for a preliminary hearing the same day.
00:20:56.000 And that'll do it for your AM update.
00:20:57.840 On a busy news day, we did not even get to the New York City mayoral debate, which we will have full coverage of on The Megyn Kelly Show later.
00:21:05.800 Join me for that.
00:21:06.660 I am Megyn Kelly, and we will be with you live on SiriusXM Triumph Channel 111 at noon east, on YouTube.com slash Megyn Kelly, and on all podcast platforms.
00:21:15.800 Happy Friday.
00:21:17.740 Every child deserves to splash, to laugh, to share adventures with friends, to feel like they belong.
00:21:32.440 But for some, that joy comes with a price tag that's beyond their reach.
00:21:37.440 Help the YMCA bring its transformative programs to those who can't afford them.
00:21:41.740 Because connections, cannonballs, and confidence should never be out of reach.
00:21:49.300 Donate today to your local YMCA.