John Bolton, who served as National Security Adviser under President Donald Trump before becoming a vocal critic, pleaded guilty Friday to one count of unlawfully retaining sensitive national security information.
Appearing before Judge Theodore Chuang, Bolton admitted to the charge and expressed remorse, stating, "I'm sorry for it."
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The plea agreement, negotiated between prosecutors and Bolton's legal team, caps his potential prison sentence at 60 months and includes a $2.25 million fine.
Bolton had originally been indicted on 18 counts of willfully transmitting and retaining national defense information, carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years.
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The case stems from Bolton's 2020 memoir, The Room Where It Happened, which detailed Trump's decision-making and criticized the former president.
According to the indictment, Bolton used personal accounts to share over 1,000 pages of notes—including classified national defense information—with two family members who lacked security clearances.
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He was compiling these notes for his book.
The Department of Justice also revealed that Bolton sent some classified information via his personal email, which was later hacked by a cyber actor believed to be linked to Iran.
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Bolton's sentencing is scheduled for October 28.
