John Bolton Set to Take Plea Deal: Report
John Bolton, who briefly served as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, is set to resolve charges related to mishandling classified information through a plea deal. He is expected to plead guilty to retaining sensitive government documents, wich could result in a reduced prison sentence. Bolton was accused of sending highly secretive work recollections to relatives to assist in his memoir preparations, with some documents marked as “classified” or “secret.” As part of the agreement, Bolton will pay a fine of $2.25 million, and there’s no evidence suggesting he took or leaked documents to foreign adversaries. Initially charged with 18 counts,he faced up to 10 years in prison per count,but the plea deal might result in no prison time or up to five years. Bolton, a critic of Trump, has previously claimed his prosecution was revenge and that he did nothing wrong. The case stems from his activities related to his 2020 book,which involved the transfer of over 1,000 pages of work summaries. The judge has up to 90 days to deliver a sentence. Additionally, reactions from Trump and others have been critical, with Trump calling Bolton a “bad guy” and expressing disapproval over his conduct.
John Bolton, who was briefly President Donald Trump’s national security adviser in his first term, will resolve charges against him with a plea deal, according to a new report.
Bolton is expected to plead guilty to one count of retaining sensitive government information, according to The Washington Post.
The deal would vastly reduce any prison time Bolton would serve if found guilty at trial.
Bolton was accused of sending “diary-like” recollections of highly secret work to various relatives who he said would help him with his memoirs.
Bolton has agreed to pay a $2.25 million fine.
🚨 JOHN BOLTON FACING PRISON TIME FOR MISHANDLING CLASSIFIED INFO!
Ex-Trump advisor expected to plead guilty today to illegal retention of classified notes compiled for his anti-Trump book.
He’s reportedly striking a deal, paying a $2 million fine, and could still face up to 5… pic.twitter.com/Zm4DMnpzvg
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) June 26, 2026
Bolton could emerge with no prison time or face up to five years behind bars. Initially charged with 18 counts, he faced a sentence of up to 10 years on each count if convicted.
Bolton served in the administrations of several Republican presidents. He worked with Trump briefly in 2019 before the two men clashed over policy. Bolton then went on to become a fierce Trump critic.
Preparation for Bolton’s 2020 book led to the charges against him. Prosecutors said he sent more than 1,000 pages of summaries of his work to relatives to prepare for the book.
A raid on Bolton’s home and office later produced documents marked as “classified” or “secret.”
Bolton has previously said his prosecution was little more than revenge and that he did nothing wrong.
Trump has called Bolton a “bad guy.”
“Too bad,” Trump said over Bolton’s October arrest. “But that’s the way it goes.”
The judge in the case will have up to 90 days to sentence Bolton, according to NBC News.
John Bolton expected to plead guilty today to retaining classified info. Plea deal includes $2.25M fine.
The man who spent years attacking everyone else over classified information just got caught by his own sloppy habits. pic.twitter.com/Ccmg5307xb
— The Last Best Hope of Earth (@TheLastHopeUSA) June 26, 2026
The outlet quoted a source as saying that under the deal “there’s no allegation that he took home any classified documents or that he leaked any documents or that he d any documents with foreign adversaries.”
Trump has said Bolton “released massive amounts of classified and confidential but classified information.”
“That’s illegal, and you go to jail for that.”
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