Former Trump NSA John Bolton Agrees to Plead Guilty in Classified Documents Case — $2.25M Restitution, Up to 5 Years Possible

On June 4, 2026, former National Security Adviser John Bolton — one of Trump's most prominent Republican critics — agreed to plead guilty to one count of retaining national security information, resolving a criminal case that had charged him with 18 counts of either retaining or disseminating classified information. The plea deal requires Bolton to pay $2.25 million in restitution. The original charges stemmed from diary-like electronic notes Bolton kept during his time in government — which he allegedly shared with two family members as he prepared his memoir 'The Room Where It Happened.' Bolton faces a potential sentence ranging from probation to 60 months in prison; he is scheduled to be formally arraigned on June 26, at which point a judge has up to 90 days to render a sentence. Trump's White House had unsuccessfully sought to block publication of Bolton's memoir in 2020, arguing it contained classified information — a claim Bolton disputed. Trump administration critics noted the prosecution represented the DOJ pursuing a former administration official who had become a fierce Trump critic, raising questions about whether the prosecution was politically motivated. The Bolton case is separate from — and did not appear to benefit from — the Jan. 6 pardons.