Ex-Trump adviser John Bolton pleads guilty to mishandling classified documents

Ex-Trump adviser John Bolton pleads guilty to mishandling classified documents Image source, Getty ImagesByMax MatzaPublished26 June 2026, 15:21 BSTUpdated 6 minutes agoJohn Bolton, a former national security adviser to Donald Trump, has pleaded guilty to mishandling classified security information as part of notes he compiled for a book. Bolton, now a prominent critic of the US president, was indicted on 18 counts related to improper handling of classified material, and initially pleaded not guilty. On Friday, he admitted to a single charge of illegal retention of classified information. The documents he retained included diary entries containing national defence information, some of it classified at the top secret level.Bolton could face up to five years behind bars, though the plea deal may help him avoid time in prison, US media report.After the judge read the allegations against Bolton in court on Friday, including about sending diary entries with sensitive information to his family members, Bolton said the accusations were accurate, CBS News, the BBC's US partner, reported."I did your honor," Bolton said about whether he committed the actions at hand today. He added he was "sorry for it."Bolton was fired from Trump's first administration in 2019. His 2020 memoir, The Room Where It Happened, recounted his time working under Trump, portraying him as a president who was ill-informed about geopolitics.The White House filed a lawsuit to block publication of the book, arguing that it contained classified information and had not been properly vetted. A judge denied the request and the book was released days later.The US Department of Justice then opened an investigation into whether Bolton had mishandled classified information by disclosing parts of it in the book.He was also accused of transmitting some of the classified materials from his time as national security adviser to two relatives. Bolton has continued to be critical of the pre...