Former National Security Advisor John Bolton reached a plea agreement on Friday to plead guilty to charges of unlawful retention of classified information. The agreement is intended to resolve most of the criminal case brought against him regarding his handling of sensitive national security records while writing his 2020 memoir, "The Room Where It Happened."

Bolton appeared at the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, where he entered his guilty plea for the illegal retention of classified information.

During his plea hearing, he expressed that he was "sorry" for his actions.

According to The New York Times, the agreement, which remains subject to approval by U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang, is expected to reduce the 18 charges filed against him in October 2025.

Sources familiar with the matter indicate that Bolton may face a fine of approximately $2.25 million and a maximum prison sentence of five years, though the final sentence will be determined by the court. The plea deal could potentially allow him to avoid jail time entirely.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Bolton illegally retained and leaked classified national defense information through handwritten notes kept in a diary format during his tenure as President Donald Trump's National Security Advisor.

These notes later served as the source material for his bestselling memoir, which includes detailed accounts of internal White House deliberations and critiques of Trump following their public fallout.

According to the October indictment, Bolton was accused of improperly sharing over 1,000 pages of notes containing national security-related information with family members via personal email accounts and messaging applications.

The indictment stated that there were several records showing Bolton was aware he was recording classified information. One note began with "the briefer said," while another stated, "While in the Situation Room, I learned..."

Prosecutors further alleged that Bolton's personal email account was subsequently hacked by individuals linked to the Iranian government, raising additional national security concerns.

Court documents state, "Bolton’s representatives notified the U.S. government of the hack around July 2021, but did not disclose that the account contained national defense information, including classified material Bolton had stored there during his time as National Security Advisor."

According to prosecutors, the alleged hackers attempted to blackmail Bolton after gaining access to the account.

Bolton (77) served as President Trump’s National Security Advisor from April 2018 to September 2019 but broke with the President over differences in foreign policy regarding Afghanistan, North Korea, and Iran. After leaving the White House, Bolton became one of the most vocal Republican critics of President Trump.

His memoir sparked a legal battle in 2020 when the Trump administration attempted to block its publication, arguing it contained classified information for which the government's pre-publication review process had not been completed.

A federal judge denied the request to halt publication, citing that copies had already been distributed, but warned that Bolton could face legal consequences for proceeding without final written authorization.

The Department of Justice subsequently launched a criminal investigation into whether Bolton had improperly handled classified information, which ultimately led to his indictment in 2025 on eight counts of illegal transmission and ten counts of unlawful retention of national defense information.

Bolton surrendered to authorities in October 2025 and initially pleaded not guilty, with his defense attorneys arguing that he had committed no crime and that the prosecution was politically motivated.

U.S. NNP = Representative Reporter Hong Seong-gu / Special Correspondent for NNP info@newsandpost.com