E national security adviser John Bolton will plead guilty in classified information case: AP source
Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your
Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton has agreed to plead guilty to a single count of retaining classified information under a deal with the Justice Department that could allow him to avoid prison time, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday. The deal would resolve a criminal case filed in October that charged Bolton with 18 counts of either retaining or disseminating classified information, including diary-like notes from his time in government that officials say he shared with family members as he was preparing a memoir about his career. Under the agreement, Bolton would also face a $2.25 million fine, said the person, who insisted on anonymity to discuss a deal that had not been made public. Any prison sentence would be capped at five years, but the agreement could also allow him to avoid time behind bars. The punishment will ultimately be up to a judge. The case against Bolton, filed weeks after prosecutors secured indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, unfolded against the backdrop of concerns that the Justice Department is using its law enforcement powers to pursue perceived adversaries of President Donald Trump. The investigation burst into public view last August when FBI agents served search warrants at his Maryland home and Washington office, but it had been well underway by the time Trump returned to the White House in January 2025. FBI agents carry boxes from former Security Advisor John Bolton’s office in Washington, Aug.
22, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File) FBI agents carry boxes from former Security Advisor John Bolton’s office in Washington, Aug. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Read More Wrote book critical of Trump Bolton, 77, is a longtime fixture in Republican foreign policy circles who became known for his hawkish views on American power. He served for more than a year in Trump’s first administration before being pushed out in 2019 and publishing a critical book that portrayed the Republican president as deeply misinformed and painted an unflattering portrait of his leadership and decision-making. Trump’s administration fought unsuccessfully to block the publication of “The Room Where it Happened” on the grounds that the book contained classified information that could harm national security if exposed. Bolton’s lawyers have said he moved forward with the book after a White House Security Council official, with whom Bolton had worked for months, said the manuscript no longer had classified information. The indictment he faced focused on notes shared with his wife and daughter rather than the substance of the book itself. Bolton had initially pleaded not guilty and, in a statement released after his indictment, described the charges as part of an “intensive effort” by Trump “to intimidate his opponents, to ensure that he alone determines what is said about his conduct.” A re-arraignment, which can signal a plea agreement, is scheduled for June 26 in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Justice Department declined to comment. The indictment’s 18 counts carried a threat of a substantial prison sentence in the event of conviction, but the plea will avert that possibility.
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