Ex-Trump advisor John Bolton agrees to plead guilty to retaining classified information: MS NOW
04 Jun 2026 16:14 UTC - by Dan Mangan
When he was indicted, John Bolton said he was innocent and that he was being targeted because of his public opposition to President Trump.
➤ Bolton, who has been a critic of Trump, was previously indicted on charges of mishandling national defense information.
➤ He faces a potential sentence of up to 60 months in prison and a fine as part of a plea deal.
➤ Former Trump advisor John Bolton has agreed to plead guilty to retaining classified information.
Former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton leaves federal court after pleading not guilty to charges of mishandling classified material on Oct. 17, 2025 in Greenbelt, Maryland. Bolton was indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday.
Alex Kent | Getty Images
John Bolton, a former national security advisor to President Donald Trump, has agreed to plead guilty to retaining classified information in a private diary, MS NOW reported Thursday.
Bolton, who is now a strong critic of Trump, faces a sentence of up to 60 months in prison and a fine of $2.25 million as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors on the single felony count, according to MS NOW.
The only people who were exposed to the secret information were his wife and daughter, according to a source cited by the outlet.
CNBC has requested comment from Bolton's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, and from the Justice Department.
Bolton is one of three prominent Trump foes who were indicted in federal court during the president's second, non-consecutive term in the White House.
The other two are former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both of whom argued that they were targeted because of Trump's animus toward them.
Bolton was indicted in October by a federal grand jury in Maryland on eight counts of transmission of national defense information and 10 counts of retention of national defense information. FBI agents had raided Bolton's home in Bethesda, Md., and his office in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 22 as part of the probe.
Bolton, who served as Trump's national security advisor from April 2018 through September 2019, is scheduled to appear for a rearraignment in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Md., on June 26, according to a court notice on Thursday.
He is expected to enter his guilty plea in the case that day.
When he was indicted, Bolton said he was innocent and that he was being targeted because of his public opposition to Trump.
The indictment against him says that from 2018 until August 2025, Bolton shared "more than a thousand pages of 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 [sensitive compartmented information] level — with two unauthorized individuals" who were relatives of his.
Neither of those two people, who were identified by MS NOW as Bolton's wife and daughter, had security clearances, the indictment says.
Comey was indicted by a federal grand jury in Virginia on charges of making a false statement and obstruction in connection with nearly five-year-old testimony to the Senate.
Two weeks after that, James was indicted by a grand jury in Virginia federal court on charges of bank fraud and false statements to a financial institution in connection with a mortgage she had obtained to buy a three-bedroom home in that state.
On Nov. 24, a judge dismissed both cases against Comey and James, ruling that the interim U.S. Attorney handpicked by Trump to oversee the office prosecuting them was invalidly appointed.
Comey was indicted a second time, on April 28, in North Carolina federal court for allegedly threatening Trump's life when he posted an Instagram image of seashells spelling out " 8647. "
"Eighty-six" is used by restaurant staff to refer to a discontinued menu item. Trump is the 47th U.S. president.
Comey's lawyers have said they plan on filing multiple motions to dismiss the indictment.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the maximum length of a possible prison sentence for John Bolton if he pleads guilty under a new agreement with federal prosecutors.
Categories rationale: The article primarily discusses legal proceedings and enforcement actions related to classified information, fitting under 'legal-regulatory' and specifically 'enforcement-actions-litigation'. It also touches upon political opposition to Trump, aligning with 'political-endorsements-opposition' and 'pro-innovation-policy' in the context of political figures.Characteristics justification: The article has a strong negative sentiment due to the focus on legal charges, potential prison sentences, and the implication of wrongdoing. The topic is highly specific and relevant to political figures, suggesting high relevance. The information is relatively recent, but the underlying legal processes can be considered somewhat stale. The unusualness (entropy) is high due to the specific nature of the legal case involving a prominent political figure.Tag relevance: The tags 'john bolton', 'classified information', 'plea deal', and 'trump' are central to the article's narrative. 'National security advisor', 'indictment', 'federal court', and 'justice department' provide context for the legal and political environment. 'Legal proceedings' broadly covers the nature of the content.asset-types: others
rwa: false
entropy: 0.85
sentiment: -0.7
staleness: 0.6
relevance: 0.9
uncertainty: 0.2RWATimes slug: cnbc-ex-trump-advisor-john-bolton-agrees-to-plead-guilty-to-retaining-classified-information-ms-now-3303835908