US President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, who has become a persistent critic of the Republican president, is expected to plead guilty over mishandling classified documents, CNN reported on Thursday, citing three sources familiar with the matter.
Bolton intends to plead guilty to one count of illegal retention of sensitive national security documents and has agreed to pay a fine of more than $2 million, CNN reported.
Court records showed on Thursday that Bolton was scheduled to appear in court to enter a new plea in the case on June 26. The records did not indicate how Bolton would plead.
He pleaded not guilty when he was first arraigned on October 17, 2025, on charges of mishandling classified information.
Bolton served as White House national security adviser during Trump’s first term, before emerging as one of the president’s most vocal critics. Also, a former US ambassador to the United Nations, he described Trump as unfit to be president in a memoir he released in 2020.
The indictment of Bolton alleges that he shared sensitive information with two of his relatives for possible use in a book he was writing, including notes on intelligence briefings and meetings with senior government officials and foreign leaders.
The indictment, filed in federal court in Maryland, charged Bolton with eight counts of transmission of national defense information and 10 counts of retention of national defense information, all in violation of the Espionage Act.
