According to US media reports, John Bolton, US National Security Advisor during President Donald Trump’s first term, has agreed to plead guilty in a case of maintaining classified information.
Bolton, who has become a vocal critic of Trump, could be fined $2.2 million but will be spared jail under a deal with the US Justice Department, the Associated Press and CNN reported.
Why are allegations being made against Bolton?
In August 2025, federal agents raided Bolton’s home and office and a criminal charge was filed in October of that year.
The former presidential adviser was charged with 18 counts of maintaining or disseminating classified information. At that time he pleaded not guilty.
Bolton was accused of sharing diary-like notes from his time in government with two of his relatives while he was preparing his memoir in the White House.
The indictment says it includes notes from intelligence briefings and meetings with senior government officials and foreign leaders.
Bolton turns adviser to staunch Trump critic
The book, “The Room Where It Happened”, was released in 2021, after Trump’s first administration unsuccessfully tried to block its publication, claiming it risked disclosing classified information. In 2021, after Joe Biden took office, US prosecutors dropped the lawsuit and grand jury investigation into the book.
The memoir presents an unflattering image of Trump, claiming that the president lacked basic knowledge of government and geopolitics and was unfit to lead the United States.
Bolton’s petition is expected to include notes he shared with relatives that contradict the information in the book, the Associated Press reports.
Bolton, a supporter of conservative foreign policy who has also served as US ambassador to the United Nations, has continued to publicly criticize Trump.
In May, Bolton said that foreign leaders such as Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping considered Trump a “laughable fool.”
Trump went after his opponents
Ever since Trump took office for a second term, his administration has been accused of using the US legal system to go after the president’s enemies.
according to a Investigation by Reuters According to the news agency, at least “470 people, organizations and institutions have been targeted for retaliation” since Trump took office in January 2025.
The US Justice Department is currently run by Trump’s former personal lawyer, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanch. The Justice Department building in Washington, DC is decorated with a giant banner bearing Trump’s face.
Neither the Justice Department nor Bolton have issued an official statement or commented on the alleged deal.
Edited by: Shawn Sinico