According to the Associated Press, on June 26 local time, John Bolton, former Assistant to the Secretary of State under the Trump administration, pleaded guilty to the charge of possessing classified information illegally. He reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, which is expected to exempt him from imprisonment.
It is reported that Bolton has pleaded guilty only to the charge of illegally retaining sensitive national security documents. The plea agreement he reached with the U.S. Department of Justice may prevent him from going to jail, but the power to determine the ultimate sentence lies with the judge.
The plea agreement suggests a maximum sentence of no more than five years, but the judge is not bound by this clause. If the judge sentences Bolton to a longer term or imposes a fine exceeding $2.25 million, Bolton has the right to withdraw his plea. Federal District Judge Theodore Zang in Greenbelt, Maryland, will pronounce judgment on Bolton on October 28th, local time.
On March 5, 2019, Bolton adjusted his tie before being interviewed by the White House. Associated Press
Bolton served as the President’s National Security Advisor during Trump’s first term in office. He was dismissed from his position in 2019 after working for over a year. After leaving his post, he published the book "The Room Where the Shooting Happened," in which he made several negative comments about Trump’s administration. He also publicly criticized Trump harshly on many occasions.
At that time, the Trump administration attempted to ban The Insider through legal means, but failed. The government claimed that the book contained confidential information that could endanger national security. As a result, Trump condemned Bolton as a “crazy war monger.” He said that if Bolton were in power, he would drag the United States into the “sixth world war.” He also threatened to put Bolton in prison.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation searched Bolton’s home in Maryland and his office in Washington, D.C., in August last year. The investigation had been underway even before Trump returned to the White House in January last year. In October of that same year, Bolton was charged with 18 crimes, including illegally retaining and disseminating classified information. Relevant evidence included secret notes written by him during his memoirs and shared with relatives.
The core charge in the indictment focuses on Bolton’s act of sharing confidential notes with his wife and daughter, rather than the content of the books he wrote. The prosecutor revealed that after sending a confidential document to a relative, Bolton left a note saying, “This matter must not be discussed outside.” One of his relatives responded, “Shh…”
