Bolton to plead guilty to retaining classified diary notes

Former national security adviser John Bolton faces sentencing that could include up to five years in prison after agreeing to plead guilty to one count of illegally retaining classified information.

The plea resolves an 18-count indictment returned in October 2025. Prosecutors alleged Bolton transmitted and retained more than 1,000 pages of notes containing national defense information at the secret and top-secret levels. The notes, compiled while he served from 2018 to 2019, were sent via personal email to his wife and daughter, who lacked security clearances. Court filings state the material surfaced after an Iranian-linked hack of Bolton’s email account in 2021.

Under the agreement, Bolton will admit guilt to a single retention count tied to diary entries. He faces a recommended fine of $2.25 million and a sentencing range of zero to five years; the judge retains final authority. The Friday hearing is set in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland. The deal does not address Bolton’s 2020 memoir.

The investigation began with an FBI search of Bolton’s home in August 2025 and an indictment later that year. It originated during the first Trump administration, continued through the Biden years, and produced charges before the current president took office. Bolton had initially pleaded not guilty and described the prosecution as politically motivated.

Bolton served briefly as national security adviser before his 2019 dismissal. He later became a frequent critic of Trump’s foreign policy and temperament.