Trump Nemesis John Bolton Agrees to Plea Deal in Classified Documents Case: Report

A former Trump national security adviser, John Bolton, has struck a tentative deal with federal prosecutors in Maryland to plead guilty to charges related to the mishandling of classified materials, handing President Trump a rare legal win against his longtime critics, according to a report Thursday by The New York Times.As part of the agreement, Mr. Bolton will plead guilty to a single count of illegal retention of classified information and will face a possible $2.25 million fine. He could also face up to 60 days or more in prison, according to reports. The deal still needs approval from a federal judge. That single count of retaining classified information was related to a diary entry, MSNOW reporter Ken Dilanian said on X.The New York Times reported that Mr. Bolton would have likely lost and faced “decades” in prison had the former national security adviser’s case gone to trial. Last year, Mr. Bolton was indicted by a federal grand jury in Maryland on 18 counts of improperly storing top secret documents at his Bethesda home and sharing, with relatives, diary-like national security notes, prosecutors said Thursday.Mr. Bolton, who served for just 17 months as national security adviser during President Trump’s first term, was accused of using a personal email account to send more than 1,000 pages of information to two relatives while he was working at the White House.Mr. Bolton was also accused of unlawfully retaining documents, writings, and notes relating to national defense. This included “TOP SECRET/SCI level” intelligence on a foreign adversary’s planned missile launch and assessments of a foreign military leader, according to prosecutors.They alleged that Mr. Bolton shared “more than a thousand pages of information about his day-to-day activities as the National Security Advisor — including information relating to the national defense which was classified up to the TOP SECRET/SCI level — with two unauthorized individuals.” The individuals, who are unnamed in court documents, are reportedly Mr. Bolton’s wife and daughter.Prosecutors also alleged that in 2021, Mr. Bolton failed to tell the FBI that a personal email account that was hacked by a “cyber actor” with ties to the Iranian regime had been used to transmit classified and national defense information. “Nor did he tell the FBI that the hackers now had this information,” prosecutors wrote in court documents.At the time, Mr. Bolton said in a statement that the FBI was “fully aware” of the hack; that no charges were filed in a previous investigation; and that the charges were Mr. Trump’s “intensive effort to intimidate his opponents.”“These charges are not just about his focus on me or my diaries, but his intensive effort to intimidate his opponents, to ensure that he alone determines what is said about his conduct,” Mr. Bolton said in a statement.In August, the FBI conducted surprise early-morning raids for classified documents at Mr. Bolton’s Bethesda home and his Washington office. Mr. Bolton has said his 2020 memoir, “The Room Where It Happened,” did not include any classified material.“My book was reviewed and approved by the appropriate, experienced career clearance officials,” Mr. Bolton said in a statement Thursday.Mr. Bolton’s lawyers also say that he proceeded with the book after a White House National Security Council official reviewed it and confirmed that it did not contain classified information. Mr. Trump unsuccessfully tried to block the book from publication, accusing Mr. Bolton of including classified information that could compromise national security.Mr. Bolton’s book was a No. 1 New York Times best seller and one of the most successful tell-all books concerning Mr. Trump, selling 780,000 copies in its first week alone. In the book, Mr. Bolton portrayed Mr. Trump as a gullible figure easily manipulated by foreign strongmen. The president was said to be particularly irritated by the book’s commercial success.

Trump Nemesis John Bolton Agrees to Plea Deal in Classified Documents Case: Report

More from the New York Sun

‘60 Minutes’ Correspondent Scott Pelley Fired One Day After Criticizing His Bosses: Will The Network Be Forced To Pay Out His Contract?

Trump Administration Cites Forced Labor For New Tariffs on Dozens of Countries

‘Jerome’ Poignantly Highlights Schemers and Dreamers in the American West

More from the New York Sun

‘60 Minutes’ Correspondent Scott Pelley Fired One Day After Criticizing His Bosses: Will The Network Be Forced To Pay Out His Contract?

Trump Administration Cites Forced Labor For New Tariffs on Dozens of Countries

‘Jerome’ Poignantly Highlights Schemers and Dreamers in the American West

Ukraine Moves Battle Lines With Its Mid-Range Drones

‘You’re On’: Senators Gillibrand and Cruz Bet on the NBA Finals

CMS To Make GLP-1s Eligible to Medicare Patients for $50 a Month

Democrats Get Their Dream Scenario in California with Becerra and Hilton Likely Headed to the Runoff

Social Mobility 101