Former Trump Adviser John Bolton Pleads Guilty To Mishandling Classified Documents

John Bolton -- a former National Security Adviser to Donald Trump who turned into the President's political enemy -- pled guilty to one charge of unlawfully retaining sensitive national security information.

Bolton appeared in court Friday and admitted to one count of illegal retention of classified information ... standing before Judge Theodore Chuang and declaring, "I'm sorry for it."

The plea agreement -- reached by prosecutors and Bolton's attorneys -- includes no more than 60 months in prison and a $2.25 million fine. Bolton was initially facing a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison after being indicted on 18 counts of willfully transmitting and retaining national defense information.

Trump has had a vendetta against Bolton since 2020 ... when Bolton published the memoir 'The Room Where It Happened,' -- only a year after being fired from office -- which details Trump's chaotic decision-making and rips him for allegedly putting his personal interests above national security as President.

The indictment said Bolton used personal accounts to share more than 1,000 pages of notes, including national defense information, with two family members who did not have security clearances. Bolton was compiling the notes for his book.

Problem is ... the DOJ says Bolton sent some of the classified info on his personal email account, which was later hacked by a cyber actor believed to be associated with the Islamic Republic of Iran.