John Bolton Reportedly Set to Accept Plea Deal in Classified Documents Case

John Bolton, a former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, is set to accept a plea deal in a case related to the handling of classified documents, according to media in the United States.

Bolton — now a prominent Trump critic — reportedly intends to plead guilty to one count of illegal retention of sensitive national security documents and has agreed to pay a fine of more than $2m.

CNN first reported the story on Thursday. Al Jazeera could not immediately confirm the details.

The former Trump official-turned-foe was indicted by the Department of Justice in October.

He was one of several Trump critics to be charged by the federal law enforcement agency, and his indictment was revealed about the same time as charging documents for former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Bolton was charged under the Espionage Act with 18 counts related to his alleged mishandling and sharing of classified information.

Investigators said that Bolton had sent over 1,000 pages of “diary-like entries” to two of his relatives, some of which contained material classified as “top secret”.

It was further charged that Bolton did not provide full details regarding a cyberattack that involved the hacking of his personal email account, which could have revealed classified information.

Bolton maintained that he had fully notified the FBI of the breach. He also pointed out that charges had never been filed against him before Trump returned to office on January 20, 2025, despite reviews of the incident.

He had pleaded not guilty when he was first arraigned on October 17, 2025.

A longtime foreign policy hawk, Bolton was a major supporter of the US invasion of Iraq during his time as ambassador to the United Nations under George W Bush.

Critics note Bolton amplified disproven claims that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction and had links to al-Qaeda.

He also served as Trump’s national security adviser from 2018 to 2019, in a tenure marked by repeated clashes with the first-term president.

Bolton’s scathing 2020 memoir detailed his time in Trump’s White House, portraying the president as being unfit for office, lacking basic knowledge of geography and world affairs.

Trump has repeatedly charged that the book contained classified information. He also sought to block the book’s release, arguing for years that Bolton should be arrested for its content.

Despite being a longtime advocate for regime change in Iran, Bolton has criticised how Trump has handled the ongoing US-Israeli war against Iran, launched on February 28.

Trump has long threatened his critics and political adversaries with lawsuits and criminal charges, and critics have argued that Trump has used his second term to initiate a campaign of retribution against perceived rivals.

But some of his efforts have faced legal hurdles. In November, the indictments against Comey and James were dropped after the prosecutor leading the case was found to be unconstitutionally appointed.

The Department of Justice, however, indicted Comey a second time in April, over a social media post it argued was a threat to Trump.

That social media post showed seashells arranged to spell “86 47”. The number “86” is a slang term for “to nix”, and “47” is a reference to Trump, 47th president of the US.

Legal experts have questioned the strength of the case, given the message’s vagueness and constitutional free speech protections. The number 86 is often used in the restaurant industry to cancel or get rid of something, and it is not necessarily a call to violence.

Trump has long sought Comey’s prosecution after the former FBI director led an investigation into possible collusion between his 2016 presidential campaign and Russian efforts at election interference.

In September, Trump posted a message to social media calling on the US attorney general to prosecute Comey and James. The message was criticised as an attack on the prosecutorial independence of the Justice Department, a long-established norm.

“There is a GREAT CASE, and many lawyers, and legal pundits, say so,” Trump wrote. “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility.”

He added: “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”