Renowned Neocon and Former Trump Adviser John Bolton Pleads Guilty in Classified Files Case

SeattleTimes.com:

Former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton pleaded guilty on Friday to illegally retaining classified information, sealing a deal with federal prosecutors that could allow him to avoid a prison term. Bolton, who became an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump after serving in the Republican’s first administration, is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 28 by U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Greenbelt, Maryland. 

 

Bolton, 77, of Bethesda, Maryland, pleaded guilty to a single count of illegally retaining national defense information, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. His plea agreement with the Justice Department may enable him to avoid time behind bars, but the judge ultimately will decide his punishment. 

 

The plea agreement recommends capping any prison sentence at five years, but the judge isn’t bound by that part of the deal. Bolton, who also agreed to pay a fine of $2.25 million, can withdraw his guilty plea if the judge imposes a longer prison sentence or a larger fine.

While Bolton was already on Trump's list of political enemies, I'm not sure his guilty plea is that significant. That's because Bolton has long been viewed as a neoconservative and GOP establishment figure who only turned against Trump because he opposed Trump's "America First" foreign policy, skepticism of NATO, and efforts to pursue diplomacy with North Korea during his first term. That said Bolton has consistently favored military intervention, making him fundamentally at odds with Trump's reluctance to start new wars in term one. Although Bolton became a favorite among some on the Left, the msm and with Never Trump conservatives after breaking with Trump, most continued to view him primarily as a war hawk and now he can add convicted felon to his resume.

RELATED: ‘Get the Noose’: Glenn Greenwald Goes Off On John Bolton’s Past Jab At Edward Snowden

Longtime Warmonger John Bolton Indicted Over Handling of Classified Material

WaPo.com:

John Bolton, a former national security adviser to President Donald Trump who has become one of his fiercest critics, was indicted Thursday on charges of mishandling classified and sensitive material.

The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Greenbelt, Maryland, charged Bolton with 18 counts of transmitting or retaining national defense information. The charges each carry a maximum 10-year prison sentence should he be convicted.

The indictment alleges Bolton shared more than a thousand pages of “diary-like” updates detailing his sensitive work between 2018 and 2019 with two relatives who were assisting him in preparing a book he published in 2020.

By focusing solely on John Bolton’s brief stint with Trump (a little over a year) and ignoring his earlier tenure as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under George W. Bush, where he was one of the leading advocates for the Iraq War, the msm (which despises Trump) will inevitably try to make this about Trump once again targeting his “enemies.” In doing so, they overlook the fact that Bolton, a longtime neocon and warmonger, may simply be facing long-overdue consequences if he’s found guilty. And judging from reports, the charges against him are very serious, including allegations that he shared classified information with family members who had no security clearance. It’s also worth noting that this case began gaining traction while Joe Biden was still in office, which double-down's on the idea that Bolton is really fucked.

RELATED: Iran-backed hackers sought to blackmail Bolton over emails - indictment