Ex-Trump adviser John Bolton expected to plead guilty in classified information case – US politics live

Key events Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. John Bolton , former national security adviser to Donald Trump , is expected to plead guilty on Friday to charges that he unlawfully retained sensitive national security information. The agreement with federal prosecutors includes a $2.25m fine, according to sources familiar with the deal. Bolton is expected to plead guilty to one count of retaining classified information, which is specifically related to diary entries about his work during Trump’s first term. The former adviser, who is now a prominent critic of Trump, was accused of transmitting some of these materials to two relatives. The trial is scheduled to take place in Greenbelt, Maryland, on Friday – and a possible sentence could range from no jail time to five years. In October, Bolton pleaded not guilty to charges of mishandling classified information when he worked in the Trump White House. “This was a very difficult decision for him,” the source close to Bolton said to NBC, in relation to his expected guilty plea. “Most importantly, he is doing what leaders do and taking responsibility. “He understands that if he went to trial what that would mean, which essentially would be the disclosure of many, many more classified documents that he would need to reveal to defend himself. …