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For years, John Bolton has been one of President Donald Trump's loudest critics, happily appearing on television to explain why mishandling classified documents was practically the crime of the century. On Friday, that moral lecture tour hit an unexpected speed bump when Bolton pleaded guilty to a felony count of illegally retaining sensitive national security information.
Turns out the self-appointed hall monitor wandered off with the answer key.
Under a plea agreement, Bolton will pay a $2.5 million fine while avoiding prison. The court could still impose probation, home confinement, or another penalty, but the former national security advisor walked away with far less than the mountain of charges he originally faced, just like most high-level politicians.
Federal prosecutors initially charged Bolton with 18 counts related to retaining and transmitting national defense information, a crime that should result in capital punishment or at least a life sentence. However, most of those charges disappeared as part of the deal, but Bolton admitted guilt to one serious felony involving sensitive national security information that could have endangered the country if it landed in the wrong hands.
The case stems from Bolton's time serving as Trump's national security advisor between 2018 and 2019 and the tell all memoir he later published after reinventing himself as one of Trump's favorite cable news critics.
According to prosecutors, Bolton kept detailed diary style notes on his personal computer and stored them at both his Maryland home and his Washington office. The notes reportedly included information from intelligence briefings, meetings with senior officials, and conversations with foreign leaders, including material classified at the Top Secret and Sensitive Compartmented Information levels. But alas, no firing squad, no life sentence, just a big fine and loss of pension.
Whoop-dee-doo!
Investigators also alleged Bolton handed more than 1,000 pages of these notes to two relatives who had no security clearance, reportedly so they could help with his book.
The FBI raided Bolton's home and office last August, recovering documents and other evidence. Bolton initially pleaded not guilty, insisting the notes were merely personal records used during the writing process. He also maintained that the published version of his memoir successfully passed prepublication review and contained no classified information. He lied.
The irony here could not be thicker if it were poured over pancakes.
Bolton spent years insisting President Trump belonged behind bars over the classified documents case Democrats aggressively pursued during the 2024 campaign.
"I think this is a potentially catastrophic turn of events for him. It certainly should be, because if proven in trial it should put Trump in jail for a long time," Bolton declared during a June 2023 interview with NPR.
He also argued that the government should "hold everyone accountable equally, and that does not exclude the president. I think this is a real issue that's going to have profound impacts on our national security if we don't take it seriously."
Investigators also alleged Bolton handed more than 1,000 pages of these notes to two relatives who had no security clearance, reportedly so they could help with his book.
The FBI raided Bolton's home and office last August, recovering documents and other evidence. Bolton initially pleaded not guilty, insisting the notes were merely personal records used during the writing process. He also maintained that the published version of his memoir successfully passed prepublication review and contained no classified information. He lied.
The irony here could not be thicker if it were poured over pancakes.
Bolton spent years insisting President Trump belonged behind bars over the classified documents case Democrats aggressively pursued during the 2024 campaign.
"I think this is a potentially catastrophic turn of events for him. It certainly should be, because if proven in trial it should put Trump in jail for a long time," Bolton declared during a June 2023 interview with NPR.
He also argued that the government should "hold everyone accountable equally, and that does not exclude the president. I think this is a real issue that's going to have profound impacts on our national security if we don't take it seriously."
And still he gets no prison time or a rope.
Fast forward a few years, and suddenly accountability comes with a plea bargain instead of dramatic cable news predictions.
After the Justice Department indicted him, Bolton sounded remarkably familiar, claiming he had "become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he deems to be his enemies with charges that were declined before or distort the facts." He lied.
Funny how quickly someone discovers the dangers of a weaponized Justice Department once they're sitting in the defendant's chair instead of the commentator's chair.
The plea agreement closes the criminal case without any admission of wrongdoing related to the classified information that ultimately appeared in his book. Even so, Bolton's guilty plea leaves behind one unforgettable lesson: if you're going to spend years demanding that everyone else be treated equally under the law, it helps not to end up pleading guilty to the very kind of offense you insisted deserved harsh punishment.
Still, the walrus gets to stay out of the slammer.
Fast forward a few years, and suddenly accountability comes with a plea bargain instead of dramatic cable news predictions.
After the Justice Department indicted him, Bolton sounded remarkably familiar, claiming he had "become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he deems to be his enemies with charges that were declined before or distort the facts." He lied.
Funny how quickly someone discovers the dangers of a weaponized Justice Department once they're sitting in the defendant's chair instead of the commentator's chair.
The plea agreement closes the criminal case without any admission of wrongdoing related to the classified information that ultimately appeared in his book. Even so, Bolton's guilty plea leaves behind one unforgettable lesson: if you're going to spend years demanding that everyone else be treated equally under the law, it helps not to end up pleading guilty to the very kind of offense you insisted deserved harsh punishment.
Still, the walrus gets to stay out of the slammer.
What do you think? Feel free to comment.
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