One of the deep state’s most ardent defenders and protectors just had a major life-changing event and it’s about time.
John Bolton, who served a brief stint as President Trump’s national security adviser, became one of Trump’s biggest critics after he was fired.
He was indicted last year on 18 charges of mishandling classified information. That was really poetic justice, considering Bolton had a lot to say against Trump when the then-former president was indicted by Biden’s DOJ on a similar charge.
Trump’s case, of course, ended when he became president – not that it would have resulted in a conviction. Presidents have the power to declassify anything they want; national security advisers do not.
Former White House National Security Advisor John Bolton will plead guilty to retaining classified information, two sources confirmed to Fox News on Thursday.
Authorities raided Bolton’s home and office in August of last year, and he was officially indicted in October. That indictment charged Bolton with both transmission and retention of classified information.
He is now expected to accept a plea deal with federal authorities to plead guilty to a single count of retention of classified information. Under the deal, he would be fined $2.25 million and could avoid serving any prison time. He faces a maximum of 5 years in prison, and ultimately, the sentence will be imposed by the judge.
“From on or about April 9, 2018, through at least on or about August 22, 2025, BOLTON abused his position as National Security Advisor by sharing more than a thousand pages of information about his day-to-day activities as the National Security Advisor—including information relating to the national defense which was classified up to the TOP SECRET/SCI level—with two unauthorized individuals,” the indictment read.
“BOLTON also unlawfully retained documents, writings, and notes relating to the national defense, including information classified up to the TOP SECRET/SCI level, in his home in Montgomery County, Maryland,” it continued.
The documents, according to the indictment, revealed intelligence about future attacks by an adversarial group in another country; a liaison partner sharing sensitive information with the U.S. intelligence community; intelligence that a foreign adversary was planning a missile launch in the future, and a litany of other “TOP SECRET” information.
“The FBI’s investigation revealed that John Bolton allegedly transmitted top secret information using personal online accounts and retained said documents in his house in direct violation of federal law,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in October.
“The case was based on meticulous work from dedicated career professionals at the FBI who followed the facts without fear or favor. Weaponization of justice will not be tolerated, and this FBI will stop at nothing to bring to justice anyone who threatens our national security,” he added.
I know what you’re thinking. The fact that he may not face any prison time bothers me, too. But the dude is 77 years old, and he’s going to have to pay a massive fine. Also, were I to hazard a guess, he will at least get some probation, and he’ll go down in history with a felony conviction. Also, the deep state couldn’t protect him.
