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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
George Chidi and Sam Levine

John Bolton reaches plea deal over mishandling classified documents

a man walks outside
John Bolton in Greenbelt, Maryland, on 17 October 2025. Photograph: Rod Lamkey/AP

John Bolton, the former US national security adviser who left Donald Trump’s first administration and became a staunch critic of the US president, has reached a plea agreement in a case criminally charging him with mishandling classified documents, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The agreement, subject to court approval, will allow Bolton to plead guilty to one count of illegal retention of sensitive national security information and requires him to pay a $2.25m fine, the person said, and serve anywhere between no time and five years in prison.

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