John Bolton Says He Kept Classified Documents to Stay Out of Jail

John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, arrived at federal court on Friday looking solemn as he entered a guilty plea in his classified-information case. Bolton admitted to one count of retaining classified information, a major development that could spare him from a far longer prison sentence. Under the agreement, he faces up to 60 months, or five years, in prison, along with a $2.25 million fine and 100 hours of community service. Prosecutors said Bolton “abused his position of trust” by sharing roughly 1,000 pages of classified material, described as “diaries,” with his wife and daughter while serving as White House national security adviser. They also said he kept documents related to national defense at his home in Montgomery County, Maryland, after leaving the administration. When asked whether he agreed with the government’s summary, Bolton briefly consulted with his attorney before telling the judge, “Yes, your honor, the summary is accurate.”

The plea applies to Count 12 of Bolton’s federal indictment, which accused him of retaining national intelligence information. The agreement marks a sharp reduction from the potential punishment he could have faced had the case gone to trial. Bolton was indicted last fall on 18 counts and, if convicted on all charges, could have faced decades in prison. Prosecutors alleged that between 2018 and 2019, he sent more than 1,000 “diary-like” entries to his wife and daughter, some of which included classified information drawn from intelligence briefings and meetings with foreign officials. Friday’s re-arraignment followed Bolton’s earlier not guilty plea, when he claimed in a statement that he was the “latest target” of political weaponization at the Justice Department.

Since beginning his second term, Trump’s administration has pursued federal criminal investigations involving several of his most prominent critics, including former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and former Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Bolton’s case, however, has stood apart from some of those matters. The investigation into his handling of classified materials advanced in part during the Biden administration, and career prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office approved the charges. That contrasts with the cases against Comey and James, which were brought by Trump’s former attorney, Lindsey Halligan.

Bolton previously appeared in court for his initial arraignment last year, where a magistrate judge ordered his release under conditions that included remaining in the continental United States and surrendering his passport. Trump has repeatedly attacked his former adviser in public, calling him a “lowlife” and “not a smart guy.” Speaking to reporters, Trump said, “He doesn’t talk, he’s like a very quiet person except on television and then he can say something bad about Trump. He’ll always do that. But he doesn’t talk, he’s very quiet.”