John Bolton Pleads Guilty To Retaining Top Secret Information In Federal Court

Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to one count of retaining sensitive government information, as part of a deal in which prosecutors recommend he be sentenced to no more than five years in prison.

When asked if he was guilty, Bolton told U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang: “I am your honor, and I’m sorry for it.”

20 Minutes

The plea agreement also requires Bolton to forfeit his government pension and pay a fine of $2.25 million, with half due within five days of sentencing and the rest within 90 days.

Prosecutors said the specific count involved information Bolton acknowledged sharing, including details of an adversary’s plans to attack U.S. forces in another country marked “top secret,” the highest level of national security classification.

Bolton’s indictment last October charged him with 18 counts of transmitting or retaining national defense information, which in the original indictment faced as many as 10 years behind bars per count.

Outside court, U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes said Bolton knew how to properly handle and store classified information and “Nevertheless, as Mr. Bolton just admitted, he put our national security at grave risk in violation of the law,” framing the plea as an admission of harm.

Hayes also said the case involved unlawful retention of intelligence about an adversary’s plans for an attack conducted against U.S. forces in another country, and that it “contained human intelligence using sensitive sources and methods.”

ABC News

Bolton’s attorney Abbe Lowell praised the guilty plea, saying Bolton “did what real leaders do,” and that he took responsibility “thereby saving the government resources to pursue a case that could expose additional sensitive information.”

The plea agreement recommends capping any prison sentence at five years, but the judge is not bound by that part of the deal, and Bolton can withdraw his guilty plea if the judge issues a longer prison sentence or a fine greater than $2.25 million.

CBC News reported that Bolton must pay half of the fine within five days of his plea and the balance within 90 days, and that the deal also requires him to submit to a debriefing with federal intelligence officials and perform up to 100 hours of community service.

Bolton is set to be sentenced on Oct. 28 by U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Greenbelt, Md., after the plea agreement was reached with federal prosecutors.

“John Bolton pleads guilty to 1 count of mishandling classified information Bolton had faced 18 counts of unlawful transmission of defense information”

ABC News

The Washington Post reported that prosecutors recommend no more than five years in prison, while the judge will decide whether to accept that recommendation, and it will be up to the judge to determine the final punishment.

NBC News said Bolton pleaded guilty to one count of unauthorized retention of national defense information out of the 18 with which he was initially charged, and that he faces a prison sentence of up to 60 months and agreed to pay $2.25 million.

The BBC reported that Bolton will also debrief national security officials on the classified information he illegally retained as well as perform 100 hours of community service, and that he admitted the accusations were accurate after the judge read the allegations in court.

The BBC also placed the case in the wider context of other Trump critics facing criminal charges, noting that Bolton’s indictment came on the heels of cases involving former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, which were dismissed and widely criticized as political retribution.