John Bolton, the former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty Friday to one count of mishandling classified information in a case stemming from his work on a book about his time in the first Trump administration that heavily criticized the president.
Appearing in federal court in Maryland, Bolton admitted to retaining sensitive government information in the form of written notes during and after his time as one of Trump’s top advisers. Prosecutors said he shared the information with two relatives who were not authorized to receive it.
Asked by U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang if he was guilty of the charge of retention of national defense information, Bolton responded, “I am, your honor, and I’m sorry for it.”