Former national security adviser John Bolton has reportedly agreed to plead guilty to a classified documents charge stemming from his handling of sensitive government records after leaving the first Trump administration.Bolton is expected to plead guilty to one count of illegal retention of sensitive national security documents and to pay a fine exceeding $2 million under the agreement, according to a report from CNN. A conviction on the charge carries a potential sentence of zero to 60 months in prison. The CNN reporting appeared to be supported by an update on the criminal case docket, which included a notice of a scheduled rearraignment of Bolton coming on June 26.Prosecutors charged Bolton last October after alleging he retained diary entries and other records from his time in the White House.
The indictment accused him of transmitting and retaining national defense information, including by sharing more than 1,000 pages documenting his day-to-day activities through a personal email account with two unauthorized individuals who have long been suspected to be his wife and daughter. Bolton was originally charged with eight counts of transmission of national defense information and 10 counts of retention of national defense information.
