00:00This morning, just moments ago, John Robert Bolton II, pled guilty in federal court to
00:07the unlawful retention of national defense information.
00:11According to the terms of the plea agreement, Mr. Bolton faces a maximum sentence of up
00:17to five years in prison, followed by a term of up to three years of supervised release.
00:24He will also pay a fine of $2.25 million and will forfeit his pension under the Hiss Act.
00:36As National Security Advisor to the President of the United States, Mr. Bolton had access
00:42to and was responsible for safeguarding the most sensitive national defense information,
00:50including classified material.
00:51Mr. Bolton knew how to handle classified information, where it should be stored, how it should be
00:59stored, and with whom he could share that information.
01:03He also knew the damage to national security that could be caused by mishandling that sensitive
01:11information.
01:12Nevertheless, as Mr. Bolton just admitted, he put our national security at grave risk in
01:19violation of the law.
01:21Our system of classified information is designed to protect sensitive information that would
01:27jeopardize national security if mishandled.
01:30And the national defense information at issue in this case was classified at the highest classification
01:38levels.
01:39The document in count 12, for example, revealed intelligence about an adversary's plans for
01:46an attack conducted against U.S. forces in another country.
01:50It contained human intelligence using sensitive sources and methods.
01:55And it discussed a covert action program.
01:58As Mr. Bolton admitted, he shared more than a thousand pages of information about his day-to-day
02:06activities as the national security advisor, including information related to the national defense,
02:13with two individuals who neither had the security clearances nor the need to know that information.
02:20As Mr. Bolton admitted, he may go out andì°¾Is equal information in their existence for you.
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