{"id":4539,"date":"2026-06-26T15:39:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T15:39:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=4539"},"modified":"2026-06-26T15:39:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T15:39:24","slug":"john-bolton-ex-trump-adviser-pleads-guilty-in-classified-files-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=4539","title":{"rendered":"John Bolton, ex-Trump adviser, pleads guilty in classified files case"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n article<\/span><\/div>

FILE-Former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton leaves federal court after pleading not guilty to charges of mishandling classified material on October 17, 2025 in Greenbelt, Maryland. Bolton was indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday. (<\/span> <\/p>

Read more More Buc-ee\u2019s locations announced in national expansion<\/a><\/p>

Expand<\/div><\/div><\/div> <\/div>

Former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton pleaded guilty on Friday to illegally retaining classified information.<\/p>

Bolton pleaded guilty to a single count of illegally retaining classified information. His plea agreement with the Justice Department may enable him to avoid time behind bars, but the judge ultimately will decide his punishment.<\/p>

RELATED: <\/strong>Ex-Trump adviser John Bolton expected to plead guilty in classified information case<\/strong><\/p>

<\/div>

According to The Associated Press, the plea agreement recommends capping any prison sentence at five years, but the judge isn\u2019t obligated to that portion of the deal.\u00a0<\/p>

Bolton can withdraw his guilty plea if the judge issues a longer prison sentence or a fine over $2.25 million.<\/p>

Read more Pinellas Park Kwik Stop owner, employee accused of selling THC products to minors near elementary school<\/a><\/p>

John Bolton classified files case<\/h2>

Dig deeper:<\/p>

In October 2025, John Bolton was charged last October with 18 counts of either retaining or distributing classified information.<\/p>

The Associated Press reported that other Trump adversaries were charged with federal crimes during his second stint in the White House. While some of those cases have folded under legal skepticism and allegations of political retribution, Bolton didn\u2019t mount a defense against his charges before cutting a plea deal.<\/p>

RELATED: <\/strong>John Bolton indicted for improper handling of classified documents<\/strong><\/p>

FBI agents searched Bolton\u2019s Maryland home and Washington, D.C., office in August 2025, but the probe started before Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.<\/p>

Bolton served over a year in President Donald Trump\u2019s first administration before he was pushed out in 2019.\u00a0<\/p>

The AP noted that Bolton went on to publish a book called “The Room Where it Happened” that presented an unflattering portrait of Trump\u2019s leadership.<\/p>

Read more Social Security July payment schedule: Here\u2019s when recipients get their checks<\/a><\/p> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John Bolton served as national security adviser in President Donald Trump\u2019s first administration before he later became a critic of Trump.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4537,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,33],"tags":[8,34],"class_list":["post-4539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-and-public-safety","category-politics","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nJohn Bolton, ex-Trump adviser, pleads guilty in classified files case - Tampa moving journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=4539\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"John Bolton, ex-Trump adviser, pleads guilty in classified files case - Tampa moving journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"John Bolton served as national security adviser in President Donald Trump\u2019s first administration before he later became a critic of Trump.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=4539\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tampa moving journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-26T15:39:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c8b620a7d1239ce333eba88b9026400a.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"764\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"432\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=4539#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=4539\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a\"},\"headline\":\"John Bolton, ex-Trump adviser, pleads guilty in classified files case\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-26T15:39:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=4539\"},\"wordCount\":357,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=4539#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/010514fcdbf28b9d3ec8d9b5a73e5f6f.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Crime and Public Safety\",\"Politics\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Crime and Public Safety\",\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=4539#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=4539\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=4539\",\"name\":\"John Bolton, ex-Trump adviser, pleads guilty in classified files case - Tampa moving journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=4539#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=4539#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/010514fcdbf28b9d3ec8d9b5a73e5f6f.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-26T15:39:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=4539#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=4539\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=4539#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/010514fcdbf28b9d3ec8d9b5a73e5f6f.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/010514fcdbf28b9d3ec8d9b5a73e5f6f.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=4539#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"John Bolton, ex-Trump adviser, pleads guilty in classified files case\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tampa moving journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"John Bolton, ex-Trump adviser, pleads guilty in classified files case - Tampa moving journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=4539","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"John Bolton, ex-Trump adviser, pleads guilty in classified files case - Tampa moving journal","og_description":"John Bolton served as national security adviser in President Donald Trump\u2019s first administration before he later became a critic of Trump.","og_url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=4539","og_site_name":"Tampa moving journal","article_published_time":"2026-06-26T15:39:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":764,"height":432,"url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c8b620a7d1239ce333eba88b9026400a.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=4539#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=4539"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a"},"headline":"John Bolton, ex-Trump adviser, pleads guilty in classified files case","datePublished":"2026-06-26T15:39:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=4539"},"wordCount":357,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=4539#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/010514fcdbf28b9d3ec8d9b5a73e5f6f.webp","keywords":["Crime and Public Safety","Politics"],"articleSection":["Crime and Public Safety","Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=4539#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=4539","url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=4539","name":"John Bolton, ex-Trump adviser, pleads guilty in classified files case - Tampa moving journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=4539#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=4539#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/010514fcdbf28b9d3ec8d9b5a73e5f6f.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-26T15:39:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=4539#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=4539"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=4539#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/010514fcdbf28b9d3ec8d9b5a73e5f6f.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/010514fcdbf28b9d3ec8d9b5a73e5f6f.webp","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=4539#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"John Bolton, ex-Trump adviser, pleads guilty in classified files case"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/","name":"Tampa moving journal","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com"],"url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}