Ex-Trump adviser John Bolton to admit retaining classified documents, US media reports

John Bolton is facing a single count of retaining classified information. (AP: Michael Dwyer)

Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton has reached a deal with the US Justice Department to plead guilty to a single count of retaining classified information, US media is reporting.

Mr Bolton, who served for a year in Donald Trump's first administration before being fired, is now a prominent critic of the president.

The deal means Mr Bolton could avoid jail time, according to a source.

Donald Trump's ex-national security adviser, John Bolton, has agreed to plead guilty to a single count of retaining classified information under a deal with the US Justice Department that could allow him to avoid prison time, US media outlets are reporting.

The deal would resolve a criminal case filed in October that charged Mr Bolton with 18 counts of either retaining or disseminating classified information, including diary-like notes from his time in government that officials say he shared with his family members as he was preparing a memoir about his time in office.

Under the agreement, the former national security adviser would also face a $US2.25 million ($3.15 million) fine, several sources have told news agences.

Any prison sentence would be capped at five years, but the agreement allows for him to avoid time behind bars, though the punishment will ultimately be up to a judge.

The FBI conducted a high profile search of John Bolton's home in August last year as part of the classified documents case. (Reuters: Tasos Katopodis)

The case against Mr Bolton, filed weeks after prosecutors secured indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, unfolded against the backdrop of concerns that the Justice Department was using its law enforcement powers to pursue perceived adversaries of US President Donald Trump.

The investigation burst into public view last August when FBI agents served search warrants at his Maryland home and Washington office, but it had been well underway by the time Mr Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.

Donald Trump's former national security adviser has been charged with storing top secret records at home and sharing classified information. Here's what we know.

Mr Bolton is a longtime fixture in Republican foreign policy circles who became known for his hawkish views on American power.

He served for more than a year in Mr Trump's first administration before being fired in 2019 and publishing a critical book that portrayed the Republican president as deeply misinformed and