By Maribel Velazquez
Former White House National Security Advisor John Boltonreached an agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to plead guilty to a charge related to the illegal retention of classified information, a case that could close one of the most sensitive investigations into the handling of sensitive national security documents in recent years.
According to CNN reports, Bolton will admit responsibility in a serious crime of withholding national defense documentsas part of an agreement that would allow him to avoid a prison sentence.
The hearing in which it will be formalized His guilty plea is scheduled for June 26. in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland.
An agreement that cuts judicial risks
The current indictment filed in October is considerably broader. Prosecutors had charged Bolton 18 charges related to possession and disclosure of classified information obtained during his time in the first Trump administration.
According to the research, The former official kept personal notes with vivid information on national security issues and shared some of that environment with family members while preparing his political memoirs.
Under the deal reached with prosecutors, Bolton will only plead guilty to one charge. Besides, agreed to pay a fine of approximately $2.25 million.
Although The crime carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison.sources cited by AP indicated that the pact was designed to prevent Bolton from being imprisoned. The final decision, however, will be in the hands of the federal judge in charge of the case.
From Trump ally to one of his harshest critics
Bolton was one of the most influential foreign policy figures during the first Trump administration. However, His relationship with the president ended abruptly in 2019 after his departure from the White House.
A year later he published the book The Room The keep It Occurred (The room where it happened), where he threw strong criticism against the president and revealed internal details of the administration.
The publication sparked a popular battle between Bolton and the Trump administration, which tried unsuccessfully to block the book’s release by arguing that it contained classified information.
However, the aforementioned media highlight that the plea agreement is not directly related to the content of those memoirsbut with personal notes that the former advisor kept and shared outside authorized channels.
According to CNN, a new investigation gained momentum after Bolton’s email account allegedly compromised by Iranian hackers during the Joe Biden administration. During that investigation, authorities discovered personal notes that contained highly vivid information from his time on the National Security Council.
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