By SDCN Staff
Former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton pleaded guilty Friday in federal court to willfully retaining national defense information.
According to federal prosecutors, Bolton 77, used personal accounts to send classified information to family members who were unauthorized to access such information, including a personal email account that was later hacked by a cyber actor allegedly linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Bolton served as the National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump’s White House between April 2018 and September 2019. According to court documents, during this time, Bolton incorporated highly sensitive classified information that he had learned in the course of his official duties into documents that he wrote about his daily activities, which he referred to as “diary” entries. The documents contained information classified up to the Top Secret level, as well as Sensitive Compartmented Information, including foreign adversaries’ military operation plans, covert U.S. government actions in foreign countries, and intelligence about adversary foreign leaders obtained from clandestine human sources and intercepted communications.
Bolton sent these documents to two family members who were not authorized to access, receive, or possess classified information. He sent the documents via non-governmental email accounts and a non-governmental messaging application which were not approved for processing classified information, and he retained copies at his home in Bethesda where they were not permitted to be stored.
According to court documents, Bolton’s personal email account was hacked by a cyber actor believed to be associated with the Islamic Republic of Iran after Bolton left office in September 2019. Bolton reported that hack to law enforcement but did not tell the agents or anyone else in the U.S. government that the account contained national defense information.
In October 2025, a federal grand jury in the District of Maryland indicted Bolton on 18 counts of willfully transmitting and retaining national defense information.
“John Bolton held a position of extraordinary public trust as the country’s top National Security Advisor, and he betrayed that trust, jeopardizing our nation’s security,” said Hayden O’Byrne, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division.
“Mr. Bolton knew the damage mishandling confidential material could cause to national security, and yet he still committed this misconduct and put American lives at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Kelly O’Hayes for the District of Maryland. “Keeping Americans safe has always been, and will always be, the top priority for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. No one is above the law, and so anyone who endangers our national security will be brought to justice.”
The plea agreement filed resolves all 18 counts. According to the plea agreement, Bolton will face a maximum penalty of 60 months in prison. He also agreed to pay a $2.25 million fine. Further, under federal law as noted in the plea agreement, Bolton’s conviction prohibits him or his survivors from collecting an annuity or federal retirement pay. The Hon. Theodore Chuang, U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Maryland, set Bolton’s sentencing date for Oct. 28.
