John Bolton, the former US national security adviser under Donald Trump, has reached a plea agreement in a case charging him with mishandling classified documents, according to a source familiar with the matter. The deal, subject to court approval, allows Bolton to plead guilty to one count of illegal retention of sensitive national security information, pay a $2.25m fine, and face a potential prison sentence ranging from no time to five years.
Court records show Bolton will appear in court to enter a new plea on 26 June. The justice department filed federal charges in October 2025 against Bolton, one of several Trump critics prosecuted in recent weeks. Trump claimed he was unaware of the charges but called Bolton a “bad guy”.
The charges relate to notes and diary entries Bolton made during his time as national security adviser, which were later included in his 2020 memoir, The Room Where It Happened. The book, which underwent a lengthy pre-publication review, contained critical accounts of Trump's foreign policy, including claims that Trump asked China to help him win re-election and praised concentration camps in China.
Prosecutors alleged a pattern of mishandling classified material in diaries kept on a computer at Bolton's home in Bethesda, Maryland, and his Washington DC office from April 2018 through August 2025. Material recovered in a raid included briefings on weapons of mass destruction and intelligence on foreign adversaries.
Bolton's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, has argued the notes were memoirs, not officially classified, and that the prosecution was politically motivated. Lowell did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Other prosecutions of Trump's perceived adversaries, such as those against former FBI director James Comey and New York attorney general Letitia James, have faced legal hurdles and accusations of political bias.
