John Bolton, a former adviser to US President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty to 1 of the 18 charges brought against him – illegal possession of classified national security information, NBC News and the Associated Press report. The former official now faces up to five years in prison, but the judge is not required to follow that part of the deal. Bolton also agreed to pay a fine of $2.25 million.
Bolton confirmed that he shared secret information recorded in an electronic diary with two relatives. CNN previously reported that these relatives were the ex-official's wife and daughter.
Sentencing is scheduled for October 28. If Bolton is given a longer prison sentence or a larger fine, he may withdraw his guilty plea. The case is being presided over by Maryland federal judge Theodore Chuang, who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama.
Bolton served as national security adviser in Trump's first administration for a year and a half and later became a vocal critic. The president claimed he fired the GOP veteran in 2019 because of “disagreement with his proposals,” but Bolton insisted he left on his own. The New York Times (NYT) at the time wrote about the adviser's disagreement with the terms of Trump's deal to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.
The indictment of Bolton in 2025 on 18 counts of mishandling state secrets (eight for the transfer of information related to national security, and 10 for storing relevant information) was associated by the media with the “revenge” of Trump, who returned to the White House. Some sources, however, noted that the case, although brought shortly after Bolton's resignation, “gained momentum” under the administration of Democrat Joe Biden.
The essence of the case was that Bolton, while preparing his memoirs, “The Room Where It Happened,” in which he criticized Trump’s work, wrote down state secrets in a personal diary and shared these notes with his wife and daughter. The memoir was published in 2020, despite attempts by the first Trump administration to block its publication.
Bolton was searched last year. He initially did not admit guilt and compared his persecution with the times of Joseph Stalin's leadership in the USSR. Bolton faced a total of more than 100 years in prison and a fine of $4.5 million. As a result, in early June, the ex-adviser to the president agreed to plead guilty. As RTVI.US reported, Bolton made a plea deal for violating the Espionage Act of 1917.
