John Bolton expected to plead guilty in classified-records case

john bolton is expected to plead guilty in a federal case over classified government documents, taking a narrower path than the multiple charges he originally faced. The deal is expected to include more than $2 million in fines, and the charge carries a possible sentence of up to five years in prison.

Bolton’s White House records

Federal prosecutors accused Bolton of keeping personal diary entries from his time in the Trump White House at his Maryland home. Investigators also alleged that Bolton used his personal email account to share more than 1,000 pages of notes and records about his work in the White House with two people who were not authorized to receive them. previously reported that the two people were Bolton’s wife and daughter, but those allegations are not part of the charge he is expected to plead guilty to.

From memoir to federal case

The case stemmed from Bolton’s 2020 memoir, which criticized Donald Trump and raised concerns that classified information may have been included. Bolton served as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser from 2018 to 2019. Earlier investigations were closed, then the case resurfaced after suspected Iranian hackers breached Bolton’s email account.

Investigators later discovered diary-style notes that allegedly contained top-secret information from his time in government, and a hearing in the case is scheduled for June 26. The plea would leave Bolton facing punishment tied to one charge, while the broader allegations about sharing notes with two unauthorized people sit outside the plea.

June 26 hearing

The June 26 hearing is the next scheduled step in the case, and it will show how the court handles a plea that narrows the dispute without erasing the underlying investigation. Bolton, a former national security adviser and defendant, now faces a case centered on retained records from his time in government and the legal exposure attached to that conduct.