John Bolton, a former national security adviser for US President Donald Trump who became one of his fiercest ‌critics, pleaded guilty in federal court on Friday to mishandling classified information and faces up to five years in prison.

“I’m sorry for it,” Bolton told US District Judge Theodore D. Chuang during the hearing.

Bolton, 77, is accused of sharing sensitive information with two relatives for possible use in a memoir he was writing, including notes on intelligence briefings and meetings ​with senior government officials and foreign leaders.

Prosecutors said he shared more than 1,000 pages in the form of diary entries.

He pleaded not ​guilty to 18 criminal charges last year.

Reuters previously reported that Bolton would plead guilty under a deal with prosecutors ⁠that included a sentencing range from no prison time to as many as five years behind bars, with the final sentence to be determined by ​a judge.

Trump attacks Bolton after guilty plea

As part of the agreement, Bolton agreed to pay a $2.25 million fine.

Bolton must make half that payment within ​five days of sentencing and the full payment within 90 days.

He also committed to up to 100 hours of community service and to meet with intelligence and Department of Justice officials for a debriefing. Bolton will also forfeit his government pension.

Chuang scheduled the sentencing for October 28.

The White House referred a request for comment to the DOJ.

Trump attacked Bolton late ​on Friday, calling him “terrible” and “unskilled,” posting on his Truth Social platform: “Hopefully, he will be dealt with harshly.”

Bolton’s book, “The Room Where It Happened,” detailed his ​tenure as Trump’s national security adviser during his first term.

He described the president as unfit for office, sparking a public feud. But prosecutors said on Friday that no ‌classified information ⁠was published in the book.

Authorities said Bolton’s personal email was hacked by someone believed to be linked to Iran, which prosecutors reiterated on Friday.

Bolton’s lawyer compares his actions to Trump’s

Kelly O. Hayes, the US attorney for the District of Maryland, told reporters after the hearing that that was exactly why it was dangerous to share classified information on personal accounts.

“He put our national security at grave risk,” she said of Bolton.

Abbe D. Lowell, Bolton’s lawyer, said in ​a statement after the hearing that ​his client was a “real leader” for ⁠taking responsibility for his actions, which Lowell called a mistake.

“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,” he said, referring to a federal indictment against Trump for allegedly ​mishandling classified documents.

“Ambassador Bolton, ⁠whose offence was only keeping a diary which contained classified information, kept a record to preserve history, but Donald Trump kept secrets to serve himself.”

Special Counsel Jack Smith dropped the case against Trump shortly after he returned to the presidency last year, citing DOJ policy against prosecuting a sitting president.

Bolton, who served as national ⁠security adviser during ​Trump’s first term in office, is one of several notable political opponents who have faced ​prosecution from Trump’s DOJ, erasing longstanding norms that had separated law enforcement efforts from partisan consider security adviser during Trump’s first term in office, is one of several notable political opponents who have faced prosecution byations.

But unlike other cases brought against Trump critics, the Bolton investigation began before Trump returned to ​office in 2025 and had the backing of career federal prosecutors.