Bolton pleads guilty to illegally retaining classified information
Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton pleaded guilty Friday to one count of illegally retaining classified information, reaching a deal with prosecutors that may allow him to avoid prison.
John Bolton, who served as national security adviser under former President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty on Friday to a single count of illegally retaining classified information. The plea agreement with the Justice Department could help him avoid a prison sentence, though the final decision rests with the judge.
Bolton is scheduled to be sentenced on October 28 by U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Greenbelt, Maryland. The plea deal recommends a maximum prison term of five years, but the judge is not bound by that recommendation. Bolton may withdraw his guilty plea if the judge imposes a longer sentence or a fine exceeding $2.25 million.
Bolton was indicted last October on 18 counts of retaining or disseminating classified information, including diary-like notes he shared with relatives while writing a memoir. FBI agents searched his Maryland home and Washington office last August, but the investigation began before Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
Bolton served in Trump's first administration for over a year before being ousted in 2019. He later wrote a book, "The Room Where it Happened," which was critical of Trump's leadership. Trump derided Bolton as a "crazy" warmonger. The indictment focused on notes shared with his wife and daughter, not the book's contents. After sending one document, Bolton wrote to relatives, "None of which we talk about!!!" One relative replied, "Shhhhh," prosecutors said.
