John Bolton, who served as Donald Trump’s national security adviser before becoming a prominent critic of the president, has pleaded guilty to mishandling classified information.
Bolton, 77, admitted to unlawfully retaining classified information during a federal court hearing in Maryland on Friday.
He’d been expected to plead guilty as part of plea deal, which reportedly includes a hefty fine of more than $2 million. The details of the plea deal have not yet been confirmed by federal authorities.
The case specifically related to diary entries detailing his work during Trump’s first term.
While the deal was expected to recommend a sentencing range from no prison time up to five years behind bars, a federal judge will ultimately determine the final sentence.
This case is one of several initiated by Trump’s Justice Department against individuals critical of the president, a pattern that has been seen as departing from long-standing norms designed to shield federal law enforcement from political pressures.
Bolton was initially accused of sharing sensitive information with two relatives for a book he was writing, including notes from intelligence briefings and meetings with senior government officials and foreign leaders.
He had previously pleaded not guilty to 18 criminal charges, encompassing both the transmission and retention of national defense information.
Bolton transitioned from a key adviser in Trump’s first term to one of his most outspoken critics, famously describing Trump in a memoir as “unfit to serve as president.”
Sources familiar with the plea agreement said that it does not allege wrongdoing concerning Bolton’s book itself, but rather that Bolton acknowledges making a mistake.
Trump’s Justice Department had previously attempted, unsuccessfully, to block the publication of Bolton’s book, which criticized Trump’s temperament and decision-making, alleging it contained classified information.
Unlike some other cases brought against Trump’s critics, the investigation into Bolton began before Trump returned to office in 2025 and was supported by career federal prosecutors.
The Justice Department also brought criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both of whom had led investigations into Trump or his businesses.
Those cases were later dismissed by a federal judge, though a second set of charges has since been brought against Comey.
Other critics of Trump have also faced investigations, with a wide-ranging probe currently seeking to establish that prior investigations of Trump constituted a criminal conspiracy against him.
