It’s just being reported by CNN that John Bolton will plead guilty to the illegal retention of sensitive national security documents.
Here’s the news:
Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton intends to plead guilty to illegal retention of sensitive national security documents. https://t.co/7pnLjI43rI
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) June 4, 2026
John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser-turned-adversary, is expected to plead guilty over mishandling classified documents, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
He intends to plead guilty to one count of illegal retention of sensitive national security documents, according to one of the sources. He has also agreed to pay a more than $2 million fine, according to one of the sources.
A conviction on one count of illegal retention comes with a sentence between 0 and 60 months in prison.
The plea deal comes months after the top Trump foe was charged by prosecutors in Maryland for allegedly keeping diary entries from the first Trump White House in his home.
Prosecutors accused Bolton of sharing “more than a thousand pages of information about his day-to-day activities” through his personal email account with two unauthorized individuals, who CNN has reported are his wife and daughter. The alleged transmission of classified information isn’t part of the charges he expects to plead guilty to.
Bolton, who served for one year in the first Trump administration, was originally charged with eight counts of transmission of national defense information and 10 counts of retention of national defense information.
The hearing is scheduled for June 26, according to the court docket.