John Bolton pleads guilty to one count of mishandling classified information

John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, pleaded guilty Friday to one felony count of unlawfully retaining classified information, resolving a criminal case stemming from his mishandling of sensitive national security records after leaving office.

Under the plea agreement, Bolton admitted to retaining classified information contained in a private diary entry, a charge carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison. He also agreed to pay a $2.25 million fine, an amount nearly equivalent to the sales of his 2020 memoir that was heavily critical of the first Trump administration.