Bolton plans guilty plea in classified documents case

John Bolton, the former national security adviser who became one of President Trump’s most prominent Republican critics, plans to plead guilty to one count of retaining classified national security information and pay a $2.25 million fine, according to CBS News.

Bolton is expected to submit the plea agreement at a June 26 hearing in U.S. district court in Maryland, one person with direct knowledge of the matter told CBS News. The court docket describes the proceeding as a “re-arraignment.” The sentencing range for the single count runs from zero to 60 months in prison, the person said.

Bolton had pleaded not guilty in October after a federal grand jury indicted him on 18 counts tied to his handling of sensitive government information. Prosecutors accused him of sharing classified material with two unidentified relatives in “diary-like” entries over a seven-year span, saying some of the information was intended for possible use in a book he was writing.

The expected plea deal does not allege wrongdoing by Bolton connected to the publication of his book, CBS News reported, citing sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The sources also said Bolton is not accused in the deal of taking home classified records or sharing them with the media or foreign adversaries. They said he intends to accept responsibility for what he did.

The Justice Department charged Bolton in October 2025 with eight counts of transmitting national defense information and 10 counts of retaining national defense information. The Guardian reported that the case was among a string of criminal charges the department secured within weeks against critics of Trump.

Trump said at the time that he was not aware of the charges against Bolton, but described his former adviser as a “bad guy,” The Guardian reported.

Prosecutors alleged that from April 2018 to August 2025, Bolton shared more than 1,000 pages of information about his daily activities while working in the Trump White House with two relatives. Some of those materials contained classified information, according to the indictment. Prosecutors also said Bolton kept documents, writings and notes related to national defense, including classified information, at his home in Montgomery County, Maryland.

According to court papers cited by CBS News, the Justice Department said Bolton’s “diary-like” notes were typed transcriptions of handwritten notes that he sent to the relatives through a commercial, non-governmental messaging app. Prosecutors also alleged he used personal email accounts, including AOL and Google accounts, to send classified information to the family members.

The indictment said the entries included sensitive information classified as high as top secret and sensitive compartmented information, a designation involving material derived from sensitive intelligence sources. Prosecutors said the notes contained “detailed information” Bolton learned from meetings with senior government officials, intelligence briefings, and discussions with foreign leaders and foreign intelligence and military organizations.

Bolton was also accused of printing and storing the notes at his house and keeping digital copies on personal devices. The FBI searched his Maryland home and Washington, D.C., office last August and seized electronic files, according to court documents cited by CBS News.

Bolton served as Trump’s national security adviser during Trump’s first term after holding senior government posts across four decades. After leaving the White House in 2019, he became a vocal critic of Trump. Following his indictment, Bolton said Trump had been working to punish him since his departure and accused the president of trying to “intimidate his opponents.”