During a federal court proceeding in Greenbelt, Maryland, on Friday, former US National Security Adviser John Bolton admitted guilt to a single criminal count of unlawfully keeping national defense information.
The 77-year-old, who has transformed into a fierce, vocal adversary of President Donald Trump since exiting the administration during Trump’s first term in office, confessed to holding sensitive state secrets within "diary-like" journals.
When the presiding judge inquired about his plea, Bolton responded, “I am, your honor. I’m sorry for it."
Commenting on the resolution, US Attorney Kelly O’Hayes noted in a public statement quoted by The Hill, “Mr. Bolton knew the damage mishandling confidential material could cause to national security, and yet he still committed this misconduct and put American lives at risk."
Bolton’s ultimate penalty will be determined by US District Judge Theodore Chuang, an appointee of former President Obama, who scheduled the sentencing phase for October 28.
Though the terms of the negotiated arrangement cap his potential incarceration at five years alongside a $2.25 million fine, legal counsel for the defense is pushing to keep Bolton out of prison entirely.
Following the hearing, Bolton’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, released a statement defending his client's integrity while criticizing Trump.
“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. Ambassador Bolton, whose offense was only keeping a diary which contained classified information, kept a record to preserve history, but Donald Trump kept secrets to serve himself," the statement added.
Entering a guilty plea marks a complete reversal in strategy for Bolton, who previously maintained that the prosecution was a weaponized act of political vengeance directed by Trump.
Bolton initially entered a not guilty plea following his arrest. At that time, a Maryland federal grand jury handed down an indictment featuring 10 counts of illegally retaining defense data and eight counts of transmitting it. He later changed his mind, with an associate saying the decision to alter his plea was motivated by patriotism.
Last August, FBI agents executed search warrants at Bolton’s Maryland residence and his Washington, D.C. office. According to court records, agents seized multiple documents labeled “secret," “confidential," and “classified," including materials related to weapons of mass destruction.
Bolton served for 17 months as Trump’s National Security Adviser during Trump’s first term in office, before he was fired in September of 2019.
The two have been at odds since then. Bolton has published a 592-page book in which he takes frequent shots at Trump, describing him as “erratic" and “foolish" and claiming he behaved “irrationally" and “bizarrely".
The Justice Department sued to bar the book’s publication, claiming it contains classified information and that Bolton violated a non-disclosure agreement by writing the book. However, a federal US judge later ruled that Bolton can move forward in publishing the book.
Trump, for his part, has frequently denigrated his former adviser, branding him a “war mongering fool" and a “lowlife dummy".
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)