00:00Good morning. Thank you all for being here today. The rules governing classified and national defense information apply equally to
00:09everyone, regardless of position and regardless of how long you have served with the United States government. This morning, just
00:18moments ago, John Robert Bolton, the second, pled guilty in federal court to the unlawful retention of national defense information.
00:28According to the terms of the plea agreement, Mr. Bolton faces a maximum sentence of up to five years in
00:36prison, followed by a term of up to three years of supervised release. He will also pay a fine of
00:44$2.25 million and will forfeit his pension under the Hiss Act.
00:51As national security advisor to the president of the United States, Mr. Bolton had access to and was responsible for
01:02safeguarding the most sensitive national defense information, including classified material.
01:08Mr. Bolton knew how to handle classified information, where it should be stored, how it should be stored, and with
01:17whom he could share that information.
01:20He also knew the damage to national security that could be caused by mishandling that sensitive information.
01:28Nevertheless, as Mr. Bolton just admitted, he put our national security at grave risk in violation of the law.
01:38Our system of classified information is designed to protect sensitive information that would jeopardize national security if mishandled.
01:47And the national defense information at issue in this case was classified at the highest classification levels.
01:56The document in count 12, for example, revealed intelligence about an adversary's plans for an attack conducted against U.S.
02:05forces in another country.
02:06It contained human intelligence using sensitive sources and methods, and it discussed a covert action program.
02:15As Mr. Bolton admitted, he shared more than a thousand pages of information about his day-to-day activities as
02:25the national security advisor,
02:26including information related to the national defense, with two individuals who neither had the security clearances nor the need to
02:35know that information.
02:38And, remarkably, he did so using his personal email account and non-government messaging applications.
02:46The mishandling of classified information can damage our relationship with allies.
02:51It can expose sensitive sources and methods, and it can jeopardize the success of our covert missions.
02:59One of the reasons why there are so many safeguards protecting national defense information is so that this sensitive information
03:06does not fall into the hands of our enemies.
03:09And that is exactly what happened here.
03:13A cyber actor believed to be associated with the Islamic Republic of Iran hacked Mr. Bolton's personal email account,
03:21and gained unauthorized access to some of the classified and national defense information in that account.
03:28This case is another example of how my office works with our law enforcement partners to ensure that justice is
03:36always served.
03:37I want to specifically thank Special Agent Jimmy Paul, our Special Agent in Charge of our FBI's Baltimore Field Office,
03:45and his team for their work in this investigation.
03:48I also want to thank the FBI's New York Field Office for its valuable assistance.
03:55The Department of Justice works hard every day to protect the people of the state of Maryland and the United
04:01States,
04:02and to protect our national security.
04:05No one is above the law, and I hope that this prosecution sends a clear message that we will vigorously
04:12investigate
04:13and prosecute individuals who violate our national security laws without fear and without favor,
04:19and we will bring wrongdoers to justice.
04:23I will now turn the mics over to our partners at the Department of Justice's National Security Division.
04:32Thank you, Kelly.
04:35John Bolton held a number of positions of extraordinary public trust in the United States government,
04:42culminating in being the national security advisor to the President of the United States.
04:47John Bolton betrayed that trust in extraordinary fashion by unlawfully retaining and unlawfully disclosing the information with which he was
05:02entrusted.
05:03Now, Kelly provided a very good summary of that today for those of you that weren't in the change of
05:07plea,
05:08and the United States will have more to say about that at sentencing.
05:12But today's plea should be a warning to anyone at any level of government that if you leak America's secrets
05:20or if you mishandle them,
05:22the United States Department of Justice, National Security Division, and our U.S. Attorney partners will be there to prosecute
05:29you.
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