GREENBELT, MD. — John Bolton will plead guilty to one count of illegal retention of sensitive national security documents. He has agreed to pay a $2.25 million fine as part of a plea agreement.
Bolton is scheduled to appear at the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Md., on June 26 to enter a plea. The statutory sentencing range for one count of illegal retention of national defense information is zero to 60 months of incarceration.
A federal grand jury in Maryland indicted Bolton in October 2025 on eight counts of transmitting national defense information and ten counts of retaining national defense information. Prosecutors allege that Bolton, who served as U.S. national security adviser from April 2018 through September 2019, shared more than 1,000 pages of daily White House activity notes with two relatives between April 2018 and August 2025.
The individuals who received these documents are Bolton's wife and daughter. Neither individual possessed security clearances. The transmitted materials included information classified up to the TOP SECRET/SCI level.
Bolton converted handwritten notes into digital text and transmitted them to his relatives via a commercial, non-governmental messaging application. He also used personal AOL and Google email accounts to email classified information to family members. Bolton printed physical copies of classified notes for storage at his Maryland residence and saved digital copies on personal devices.
Federal agents searched Bolton's residence in Bethesda, Md., and his Washington, D.C., office in August to execute investigative requests. The FBI initiated a renewed inquiry into Bolton after his email was accessed by suspected Iranian hackers.
The plea agreement states that Bolton is not accused of wrongdoing regarding the publication of his 2020 memoir or of sharing information with media outlets or foreign adversaries. The Justice Department closed a prior criminal and civil investigation into the 2020 memoir within a year after opening it in 2020.