Former Trump adviser John Bolton pleads guilty to withholding national security information
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and former National Security Advisor John Bolton arrives for a hearing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on June 26, 2026 in Greenbelt, Maryland.
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John Bolton, former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty in federal court in Maryland on Friday morning to one count of withholding national security information.
The information was something Bolton, 77, kept after he left office, and used it to write a book about his time in the Trump administration. The letter was critical of the president.
“Bolton used personal accounts to send confidential information to family members who were not authorized to access that information, including an email account that was later hacked by an Internet actor allegedly linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the Justice Department said in a statement Friday.
“The documents contain information classified up to the TOP SECRET level, as well as Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI), including military operations of foreign adversaries, actions of the US government in foreign countries, and intelligence about foreign adversary leaders obtained from confidential human sources and intercept communications,” the DOJ said.
Bolton faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison when he is sentenced on October 28.
He agreed to pay a $2.25 million fine, according to prosecutors. And because of his conviction, Bolton and his survivors will be barred from collecting a pension or state retirement income.
When Judge Theodore Chuang asked Bolton on Friday if he intended to plead guilty, Bolton replied, “I am your honor, and I apologize for that,” according to MS NOW.
Part of the trial in US District Court in Greenbelt was closed due to national security concerns.
“Mr. Bolton knew that violating classified information would harm national security, but he still did it and put American lives at risk,” said Maryland U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes in a statement.
Bolton, who has been a vocal critic of Trump for years, was indicted in October by a grand jury on eight counts of passing on national security information and 10 counts of withholding national security information.
The remaining charges in the case will be dismissed if Bolton is convicted, according to prosecutors.
FBI agents raided Bolton’s home in Bethesda, Maryland, and his office in Washington, Aug. 22 as part of the Department of Justice’s criminal investigation into him.
Bolton served as Trump’s national security adviser from April 2018 to September 2019.
Bolton is one of three high-ranking Trump foes to face criminal charges since Trump re-entered the White House for a second consecutive term in January 2025.
The other two are former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Comey has been charged with perjury and withholding evidence for nearly five years before the Senate. James was charged with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution regarding a mortgage loan he obtained to purchase a three-bedroom home in Virginia.
A judge in November dismissed both the indictments against Comey and James, ruling that the chief prosecutor in the cases, who was chosen by Trump, was illegally appointed.
Comey was indicted again on April 28, in a North Carolina federal court for allegedly threatening Trump’s life by posting a photo on Instagram of seashells that read “8647.”
Comey and James have denied wrongdoing and said they were targeted by the Justice Department because of their opposition to Trump.
