Ex-Trump advisor John Bolton pleads guilty to retaining national defense information
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and former National Security Advisor John Bolton arrives for a plea hearing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Greenbelt, Maryland, on June 26, 2026.
Take Drago | Getty Images
John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, pleaded guilty in Maryland federal court Friday morning to one count of withholding national defense information.
Bolton has been a staunch critic of Trump for years.
Bolton was indicted by a grand jury in October on eight counts of transmitting national defense information and 10 counts of withholding national defense information.
FBI agents raided Bolton’s home in Bethesda, Maryland, and his office in Washington, D.C., on August 22 as part of the Justice Department’s criminal investigation into Bolton.
Bolton served as Trump’s national security adviser from April 2018 to September 2019.
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