Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton pleaded guilty Friday to one count in a federal classified documents case, admitting to unlawfully retaining national defense information after prosecutors accused him of keeping highly sensitive material at his Maryland home.
Bolton entered the plea in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland, before U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang. The guilty plea covered count 12 of an 18-count indictment, which alleged unauthorized possession of a document tied to national defense information.
The charge can carry up to 10 years in prison, though prosecutors and Bolton’s attorneys agreed that any sentence would be capped at five years. Bolton was not sentenced Friday, and Chuang has up to 90 days to issue a punishment, according to NBC News.
A Justice Department prosecutor told the court Bolton also faces a $2.25 million fine, with half due within five days, along with three years of supervised release, up to 100 hours of community service, and a required debriefing with a U.S. intelligence committee. Bolton also agreed to give up any federal annuity or retirement benefits connected to his government service.
As part of the plea, Bolton waived his right to appeal both the conviction and sentence. He will still be permitted to withdraw the guilty plea before sentencing is finalized, but that option ends once the sentencing phase is complete.
Federal authorities searched Bolton’s home and office last August before indicting him in October on charges involving both the retention and transmission of classified information. Prosecutors alleged that some of the material Bolton kept included intelligence about possible future attacks by an adversarial group overseas, sensitive information shared with U.S. intelligence by a liaison partner, and intelligence indicating that a foreign adversary was planning a future missile launch.
Several of the documents were marked “TOP SECRET,” according to prosecutors.
The indictment alleged that from April 2018 through at least August 2025, Bolton “abused his position” as national security adviser by sharing more than 1,000 pages describing his day-to-day activities in the role with two unauthorized individuals. Prosecutors said that material included national defense information classified as high as “TOP SECRET/SCI.”
The indictment also accused Bolton of unlawfully retaining documents, writings, and notes related to national defense at his home in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Bolton served as President Trump’s national security adviser from 2018 to 2019 before a bitter split with the administration. Trump said he fired Bolton over major policy disagreements, while Bolton claimed he resigned. He later emerged as one of Trump’s loudest critics, but Friday’s plea put the focus back on Bolton’s own handling of the nation’s most closely guarded secrets.
Source - MXM Exclusive