John Bolton, once one of President Donald Trump’s closest advisors and later one of his most vocal critics, has agreed to plead guilty to a federal felony charge related to mishandling sensitive national security information.
Three sources familiar with the matter confirmed that Bolton intends to plead guilty to one felony count of illegal retention of sensitive national security information.
As part of the plea deal, Bolton has also agreed to pay a fine exceeding $2 million, representing a significant financial consequence for the former senior official.
Bolton is scheduled to appear for a rearraignment at U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, on June 26, where he is expected to formally enter his guilty plea.
A conviction on the single count he faces carries a potential sentence ranging from zero to 60 months in prison, leaving his ultimate punishment subject to judicial discretion.
The sensitive information at the center of the case was described by Bolton in an electronic diary entry that he shared with two family members, identified in the indictment as his wife and daughter, neither of whom held security clearances.
Notably, the guilty plea will not encompass allegations that Bolton physically took home or distributed classified documents, but rather that he recorded sensitive national security information within his personal papers.
Bolton originally faced a far more serious legal exposure, having been charged with eight counts of transmission of national defense information and ten counts of retention of national defense information following a raid on his home and office in August of last year.
The FBI first opened its investigation in 2021 under President Biden after Bolton’s email was compromised in a cyberattack, during which officials discovered the personal notes he had allegedly shared with his wife and daughter.
A source close to Bolton told NBC News that he changed his plea for the good of the country, adding: “This was a very difficult decision for him. Most importantly, he is doing what leaders do and taking responsibility. He understands that if he went to trial what that would mean, which essentially would be the disclosure of many, many more classified documents that he would need to reveal to defend himself. And given the Ukraine and the Middle East, he didn’t want to do that.”
The indictment alleged the documents contained highly classified material, including intelligence about future attacks by an adversarial group, a foreign adversary’s plans for a missile launch, and details of a liaison partner sharing sensitive information with the U.S. intelligence community.
When originally indicted, Bolton maintained his innocence and claimed he was being targeted because of his public opposition to Trump, who had long called for his arrest over his 2020 memoir critical of the president.
Bolton is one of three prominent Trump adversaries indicted in federal court during Trump’s second term, alongside former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both of whom have similarly argued they were targeted due to Trump’s hostility toward them.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the matter and directed CNN to the court docket, which confirmed the June 26 hearing date.
