Trump foe John Bolton enters guilty plea. Here's why his classified informaton case didn't fall apart

https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/26/politics/john-bolton-plead-guilty


As several criminal investigations into President Donald Trump’s foes continue to flail, federal prosecutors are now ushering one of his biggest critics to a conviction.

Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton pleaded guilty Friday to a charge of unlawfully retaining sensitive national security information — a rare win in the Justice Department’s list of prosecutions against the president’s political enemies.

Asked by the judge if he was guilty, Bolton said: “I am your honor and I’m sorry for it.”

The plea agreement prosecutors and attorneys for Bolton reached is for no more than 60 months in prison, with a $2.25 million fine. The first half of that fine will be paid within five days of sentencing, according to prosecutors. He will also forfeit his pension, according to prosecutors.

____

“Today, Ambassador Bolton did what real leaders do. He took responsibility for a mistake he made, thereby saving the government resources to pursue a case that could expose additional sensitive information,” Lowell said. “By contrast, President Trump thumbed his nose at the classified information laws, took actual classified documents to his Florida mansion, interfered with the investigation of that conduct, and has never accepted any accountability for his conduct.”