The national security hawk has emerged as a critic of President Trump after serving his first term.
Published June 26, 2026
John Bolton, a prominent critic of President Donald Trump and former national security adviser, pleaded guilty to unlawfully retaining classified information in a federal court hearing in Maryland.
Bolton pleaded guilty on Friday to sharing documents with two relatives that could be used in a book he was writing, including notes about information conferences and meetings with senior government officials and foreign leaders. He pleaded not guilty to 18 criminal charges last year.
“I’m disappointed,” Bolton told U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuan during the hearing.
Bolton, who served as national security adviser during President Trump’s first term, is one of several high-profile political opponents to face prosecution by the Trump administration’s Justice Department, erasing longstanding norms that separated law enforcement efforts from partisan considerations.
But unlike other cases brought against Trump’s critics, Bolton’s investigation began before Trump returned to office in 2025 and was backed by career federal prosecutors.
Reuters previously reported that as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors, Bolton would plead guilty in exchange for a sentence ranging from no prison to a maximum of five years in prison. The national security hawk is scheduled to be sentenced in October.
Bolton also reportedly agreed to pay a $2.25 million fine and committed to 100 hours of community service. He is accused of sharing classified information, including notes from intelligence briefings and meetings with foreign leaders, with two relatives for possible use in a memoir about his experiences in the White House during Trump’s first term in office.
The book, titled “The Room Where It Happened,” criticized President Trump, saying Bolton was unfit to be president. President Trump has since denounced Bolton as a “crazy” man obsessed with war and who would have led the country into “World War Six.”
