John Bolton Expected to Plead Guilty to Felony Charge
Former National Security Advisor John Bolton is likely to enter a guilty plea to a felony charge related to the unauthorized retention of classified information in a personal diary, as reported by multiple sources familiar with the situation.
This plea deal, emerging on Thursday, would settle a criminal case stemming from charges filed last October. A federal grand jury had indicted him on ten counts for retaining national defense information and eight counts for transmitting classified information. It seems that these materials included notes from his government service, which he reportedly shared with family while working on a memoir covering his time in the Trump administration between 2018 and 2019.
In August, the FBI conducted a raid on his home in Bethesda, Maryland, where it is believed he stored these sensitive documents.
“From on or about April 9, 2018, through at least on or about August 22, 2025, BOLTON abused his position as National Security Advisor by sharing more than a thousand pages of information about his day-to-day activities as the National Security Advisor—including information relating to the national defense which was classified up to the TOP SECRET/SCI level—with two unauthorized individuals,” according to the indictment.
“BOLTON also unlawfully retained documents, writings, and notes relating to the national defense, including information classified up to the TOP SECRET/SCI level, in his home in Montgomery County, Maryland,” it continued.
The proposed plea agreement suggests that Bolton could face a fine of $2.25 million, with any prison term limited to five years, depending on the judge’s decision, based on information provided by an anonymous source.
Bolton has often found himself at odds with the Trump administration over various foreign policy matters, particularly regarding Iran, North Korea, and Afghanistan, leading to his dismissal in 2019.
In 2020, he published a revealing book titled “The Room Where It Happened,” which discussed his short-lived tenure with Trump.
“He released massive amounts of classified and confidential information. That’s illegal, and you go to jail for that,” Trump remarked during a 2020 interview.
Court documents indicate that Bolton’s hearing is set for June 26.
