John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, pleaded guilty Friday to one felony count of unlawfully retaining classified information, resolving a criminal case stemming from his mishandling of handling of sensitive national security records after leaving office.Under the plea agreement, Bolton admitted to retaining classified information contained in a private diary entry, a charge carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison. He also agreed to pay a $2.25 million fine, an amount nearly equivalent to the sales of his 2020 memoir that was heavily critical of the first Trump administration.The agreement significantly narrowed the case after Bolton had initially pleaded not guilty to an 18-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury last fall.
Federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland had accused Bolton of illegally retaining more than 1,000 pages of national defense information, including documents marked “secret” and “top secret,” and transmitting classified material through personal email and messaging accounts. Prosecutors alleged the information was shared with unauthorized family members, including his wife and daughter. The plea agreement does not require Bolton to admit to leaking classified information to the media or a foreign government.The investigation spanned two presidential administrations. Although the Biden administration dropped an initial inquiry related to Bolton’s memoir, The Room Where It Happened, in June 2021, prosecutors took a new course after it was discovered that hackers, believed to be affiliated with Iran, accessed Bolton’s email account, revealing private journal entries that allegedly contained classified information from his time as national security adviser.The investigation gained steam following former President Joe Biden’s departure in early 2025, culminating in FBI searches of Bolton’s Maryland home and Washington office in August of that year, before a federal grand jury indicted him in October.FBI agents carry bags and boxes out of former national security adviser John Bolton’s house on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Bethesda, Maryland. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
