A former adviser to President Donald Trump who became a harsh critic has pleaded guilty in federal court for illegally retaining classified information.
John Bolton pleaded guilty on Friday to one count of retaining sensitive government information as part of a plea deal, The Washington Post reported.
Prosecutors have recommended that Bolton face no more than five years behind bars. A judge has to agree to the recommendation.
He will be sentenced on Oct. 28, The Associated Press reported.
Prosecutors said he sent more than 1,000 “diary-like” recollections of his classified work to relatives using a personal email account while he was writing a memoir. The family members did not have security clearance, according to The New York Times. The account was believed to have been hacked by someone in the Iranian government. FBI agents also raided his office and seized documents they said were “classified” or “secret.”
He initially pleaded not guilty to 18 counts of transmitting or retaining national defense information, but when a federal judge scheduled today’s hearing, it was believed he was changing his plea.
In addition to the potential prison sentence that comes with the guilty plea, Bolton has agreed to pay a $2.25 million fine in two installments. The first half is to be paid within five days, and the second within 90 days.
The case began with an investigation by the Justice Department during Trump’s first term and continued under President Joe Biden, The New York Times reported.
Bolton served under President George W. Bush as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and as Trump’s third national security advisor during Trump’s first term, but was fired by the president in 2019, The Washington Post reported.
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