Former national security adviser John Bolton has reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, agreeing to admit guilt to a single charge of illegally retaining classified information.
The deal, reached after an 18-count indictment in October 2025, narrows the case significantly. Bolton is scheduled to enter the plea at a June 26 hearing in federal court in Maryland and will pay a fine of about $2.25 million. The charge stems from diary-style entries Bolton kept during his time as national security adviser from 2018 to 2019. Prosecutors said he shared more than 1,000 pages with family members via a personal email account that was later hacked by Iranian-linked actors. Bolton had originally pleaded not guilty and called the charges politically motivated. A source close to him said the decision was difficult but reflected taking responsibility. The plea does not include transmission charges or allegations that Bolton shared material with foreign governments or released it publicly. A federal judge will determine the sentence, which could range from probation to up to five years in prison, within 90 days after the hearing.
