Former national security adviser John Bolton, 77, pleaded guilty Friday to a single federal count of retaining national defense information, admitting he kept classified material in diary-like personal entries after leaving the White House.
The plea, entered in federal court, covers notes Bolton compiled following his departure from the Trump administration in September 2019 — documents prosecutors said contained protected national security information he was not authorized to hold.
Under the terms of the deal, Bolton may avoid prison time entirely, according to reporting reviewed by the Wail. No final sentencing figure has been confirmed publicly.
Bolton served as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser from April 2018 until Trump dismissed him in September 2019. He later published a memoir, “The Room Where It Happened,” which drew a separate legal dispute with the government over classified content prior to publication.
The classified-documents prosecution is one of several such cases to move through federal courts in recent years involving senior officials and the handling of sensitive government records after leaving office.
Sentencing is expected to be scheduled in the coming weeks. The Wail will report the date and any penalty when the court sets it.