In a major development in a high-stakes federal national security case, John Bolton — the former White House National Security Advisor under ex-President Donald Trump who later became one of Trump’s most high-profile critics — has finalized an agreement to plead guilty to one count of improper retention of classified defense information, according to two anonymous sources with direct knowledge of the unannounced deal.
The case against Bolton dates back to October 2023, when federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland brought an 18-count indictment against him, alleging that he mishandled hundreds of sensitive documents, including dozens marked Top Secret, during and after his tenure in the Trump administration from 2018 to 2019. Prosecutors argued at the time that Bolton’s lax handling of the classified material put American national security at tangible risk. Among the compromised documents were what the indictment described as “diary-like” personal notes Bolton kept during his time in the White House, which included sensitive national defense information classified at the highest levels. Bolton had entered an initial plea of not guilty following his indictment.
Under the terms of the newly reached deal, Bolton will change his plea to guilty on a single count connected to those diary notes, pay a $2.25 million financial penalty, and avoid any recommendation for prison time from prosecutors. The formal plea is scheduled to be entered during a re-arraignment hearing set for June 26. One source close to the negotiations confirmed that the agreement formally recommends no custodial sentence, though the final sentencing decision will rest with the presiding judge at a future hearing. The charge Bolton is admitting to carries a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. The deal still requires formal judicial approval to take effect.
When contacted by the BBC, a spokesperson for the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed the scheduled hearing date but declined to offer any additional comment on the plea agreement. The U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the deal.
Bolton’s indictment last year came as part of a string of high-profile criminal prosecutions targeting prominent critics of Trump, a sequence that sparked widespread political scrutiny. Since leaving the Trump administration in 2019, Bolton has been an unflinching critic of the former president, publishing a tell-all book that sharply criticized Trump’s leadership and policies, and Trump himself has publicly stated that Bolton deserves jail time.
However, legal analysts and former federal prosecutors interviewed by the BBC emphasize that Bolton’s case differs meaningfully from other prosecutions of Trump critics, due to the strength of the evidence compiled by investigators. Sources close to Bolton explain his decision to accept the plea deal as a deliberate choice to accept responsibility for his actions. “The ambassador has admitted to what he has done,” one source said. The source added that Bolton also recognized that proceeding to trial would require the release of additional classified information as part of his defense strategy, and he chose to accept the plea deal to prevent further harm to U.S. national security. “Unlike others, he’s stood up and said he takes responsibility,” the source added.