John Bolton May Be Headed to Prison

For a bureaucrat, John Bolton cuts a pretty memorable figure. An überhawk who helped architect George W. Bush’s disastrous war in Iraq, Bolton also flamed out of Donald Trump’s first administration, wrote a bestselling memoir with a title inspired by the musical Hamilton, and sports a trademark walrus mustache. Now the former top Republican official can add another distinction to his résumé: felon. Bolton pleaded guilty this morning to mishandling classified government information. On the surface, this looks like yet another instance of a Trump antagonist falling victim to a politicized Justice Department. But the story isn’t quite that simple.

Rewind. What exactly did Bolton do?

Last year, a federal grand jury indicted Bolton on 18 counts. Prosecutors accused him of sharing national defense information with people—reportedly his wife and daughter—who helped him with his aforementioned memoir, The Room Where It Happened. The charges collectively threatened Bolton with decades in prison, and he initially fought them. But after striking a plea deal, he admitted to one count of illegally retaining classified information. Under the deal, he’ll pay a $2.25 million fine and face up to five years behind bars.

OK, but Bolton is a powerful guy. Is he really going to prison?

According to the New York Times, court documents suggest he will. But Bolton isn’t scheduled to be sentenced until October, and the judge in the case—a Barack Obama appointee—could impose a more lenient punishment. And you’re right: This would be a rare case of a former top government official actually doing time.

Remind me why Trump doesn’t like him? 

Bolton is one of the many people hired in the president’s first term who ended up on bad terms with the boss. Brought on in 2018 as Trump’s third national security adviser, Bolton departed just 17 months later over Trump’s conciliatory approach to Afghanistan, North Korea, and (irony of ironies!) Iran. But their breakup was messier than most. In the memoir that ended up at the center of his criminal case, Bolton claimed that Trump offered to halt investigations to help “dictators he liked,” begged China to meddle in the 2020 election to help him win, and was a “stunningly uninformed” man whose own aides privately mocked him.

So is this just another case of Trump using the Justice Department to punish his enemies?

I won’t deny it: The optics aren’t great. Bolton is part of a growing list of Trump critics the administration has targeted. Others include former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and E. Jean Carroll, a writer whom Trump was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming. But two things can be true, and Bolton’s isn’t a simple case of presidential pique. The investigation into his retention of classified documents reportedly began in 2020 but intensified during the Biden administration and has been helmed by veteran prosecutors rather than political hacks. And in pleading guilty, Bolton admitted to having committed a crime. “I’m sorry for it,” he told the judge.

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But wait, didn’t Trump also keep government documents he wasn’t supposed to?

Yes, and it’s yet another strange irony of this case. After the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago in 2022, federal prosecutors accused Trump of taking sensitive documents from the White House. It was one of four criminal probes Trump faced after leaving office. But then a particularly toadyish Trump-appointed judge named Aileen Cannon effectively undermined the prosecution. So while Bolton may be headed to prison, Trump is sitting pretty in the very building from which he allegedly stole documents. Wonders never cease!

That’s enough politics for today. It’s about to be Friday night, a perfect time for a movie—either at home or in theaters. But don’t waste your evening on a bad film: Let Slate’s exceptional culture team guide you through what to watch, what to consider, and what to skip (but also read about and cackle).

Here are some can’t-miss theater picks: If you’re looking for family fare, Toy Story 5 is heartbreaking and poignant. If you’re down for films that are both terrifying and artful, we have a horror trio: Obsession, Backrooms, and Leviticus. If you want to go out on a limb, Disclosure Day was not everyone’s favorite, but it’s worthy of your consideration. But if you do go out, watch out for one beloved theater chain’s terrible new feature.

We also have some great options for staying home: You can now rent Project Hail Mary, a sci-fi film that works for genre and non-genre fans alike. The charming, tearjerking Sheep Detectives (in which the sheep … are the detectives) is now streaming on Prime Video. And if you’re up for a rom-com, there’s Voicemails for Isabelle, which is big on Netflix.

And we have some great reads about movies that, to put it mildly, missed the mark: Supergirl is a “super-bummer,” according to Slate’s Dana Stevens. In the Hand of Dante does impressively little with an incredible cast, writes Laura Miller. And Citizen Vigilante is a disturbing film that is catnip for the internet’s worst people, Rebecca Onion explains.

That’s all from us. Have a great weekend. And if you want to start next week off right, check out Your Morning Slate, a newsletter that goes great with coffee.

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