John Bolton, President Donald Trump's former adviser, pleaded guilty on Friday to keeping sensitive national security information after leaving his role.
Appearing in federal court in Maryland, Mr Bolton admitted to illegally retaining classified information.
The case stemmed from his compiling of notes for his book The Room Where It Happened, and sharing them with two family members. The documents included notes on intelligence briefings and meetings with senior government officials and foreign leaders.
The New York Times reported that under his plea deal, Mr Bolton could be jailed for up to five years and be fined more than $2 million. If Mr Bolton had gone to trial and lost, he could have faced decades in prison.
Agents raided Mr Bolton's Maryland home in August and seized documents labelled “classified”, “confidential” and “secret” from his office, according to previously unsealed court filings.
After leaving the White House in Mr Trump's first term, Mr Bolton, who also served as US ambassador to the UN under former president George W Bush, became a severe critic of Mr Trump. The investigation into his handling of sensitive documents was perceived as the President targeting his adversaries.
Mr Trump has opened investigations into other opponents, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, who headed a case accusing him and his family business of large-scale fraud, and former FBI director James Comey, who oversaw a probe into links between Mr Trump's 2016 political campaign and Russia.
