John Bolton, who served as President Donald Trump’s national security advisor and later became one of his fiercest critics, has agreed to plead guilty to retaining classified information in a private diary, avoiding a trial that could have exposed more details about his time in the Trump White House.
Bolton faces a sentence of up to 60 months in prison and a fine of $2.25 million as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors on a single count of illegal retention of sensitive national security information, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. He is scheduled to appear in US District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, on June 26 to enter his guilty plea.
The plea deal comes months after Bolton was indicted by a federal grand jury in Maryland on eight counts of transmission of national defense information and 10 counts of retention of national defense information. FBI agents had raided Bolton’s home in Bethesda, Maryland, and his office in Washington, DC, in August 2025 as part of the probe.
What Bolton Admitted — And What He Didn’t
Bolton’s guilty plea will not include charges related to the allegation that he took home or shared classified documents. Instead, he is pleading guilty to writing down sensitive national security information as part of his personal papers — specifically, diary entries from his time in the first Trump administration.
The indictment had alleged that from 2018 until August 2025, Bolton shared “more than a thousand pages of his day-to-day activities as the National Security Advisor — including information relating to the national defense which was classified up to the TOP SECRET/SCI level — with two unauthorized individuals” who were relatives of his. Those two people have been identified as Bolton’s wife and daughter, neither of whom had security clearances.
The alleged transmission of classified information is not part of the charges he expects to plead guilty to, CNN reported. The distinction is significant: Bolton is admitting to keeping classified information in his diary, not to spreading it to unauthorized people.
The Only Trump Foe Whose Case Stuck
Bolton is one of three prominent Trump critics who were indicted during the president’s second, non-consecutive term. The other two are former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Both of those cases were dismissed by a judge who ruled that the interim U.S. Attorney General handpicked by Trump to oversee the prosecutions was invalidly appointed.
Comey was indicted a second time, in North Carolina, for allegedly threatening Trump’s life with an Instagram post. His lawyers have said they plan to file multiple motions to dismiss.
Unlike those cases, Bolton’s case has maintained the support of career prosecutors and investigators, people briefed on the matter previously told CNN. Trump had long called for Bolton to be arrested over his 2020 memoir, which was highly critical of the president, claiming Bolton should go to jail because classified information was contained in the book.
Trump’s first Justice Department opened criminal and civil investigations into the book in 2020, but it was closed within a year. The FBI opened a new inquiry into Bolton the next year — still during the Biden presidency — after his email was breached by suspected Iranian hackers. Investigators then discovered “diary-like entries” containing top secret information from his time as national security advisor.
What’s Next
Bolton’s guilty plea means he will not face a trial on the original 18 counts. The single felony count of illegal retention of sensitive national security information carries a sentence range of zero to 60 months in prison. The judge will have significant discretion in determining the actual sentence.
When he was indicted, Bolton said he was innocent and that he was being targeted because of his public opposition to Trump. He has since changed his position as part of the plea deal.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the plea agreement, referring CNN to the court docket, which indicates a hearing was set for June 26.
The Bottom Line
John Bolton, former national security advisor to President Trump, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of illegally retaining classified information in a private diary. He faces up to 60 months in prison and a $2.25 million fine. The plea deal allows him to avoid trial on the original 18 counts, which included transmission of national defense information. Unlike cases against other Trump critics James Comey and Letitia James, Bolton’s case has maintained the support of career prosecutors. He is scheduled to appear in federal court in Maryland on June 26 to enter his guilty plea.
