Topline
Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the home and office of former National Security Advisor John Bolton—who served during President Donald Trump’s first administration but has since become critical of the president—in Bethesda, Maryland, on Friday, as FBI Director Kash Patel made a cryptic social media post about no one being above the law.
Former National security adviser John Bolton served in the White House during a part of Trump’s first term, but he has since become a vocal critic of the president.
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Key Facts
FBI agents were reported at Bolton’s Maryland home starting around 7 a.m. EDT Friday morning, multiple outlets reported, with sources including The New York Times and CNN then reporting federal investigators were seen entering Bolton’s Washington, D.C., office later Friday morning.
Bolton was reportedly “unaware of the FBI activity” at his Bethesda, Maryland, residence, according to CNN, and he has not yet commented publicly on the search.
Sources cited by The Times said the investigation into Bolton concerns “whether he illegally shared or possessed classified information,” with CNN and The Times reporting the investigation concerns whether Bolton published classified information in his 2020 book—as the DOJ investigated during Trump’s first term—as well as other potential leaks of classified materials since the book’s publication.
ABC News reported federal magistrate judges in Maryland and Washington signed off on the searches, but the Associated Press reports the former advisor has not been charged with any crimes, and Vice President JD Vance told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the government is “in the very early stages of an ongoing investigation” and is just “gathering evidence” and “trying to understand something that we’re worried about” before potentially bringing charges.
While the agency has not issued a statement, FBI Director Kash Patel made a cryptic post on X, saying “NO ONE is above the law…FBI agents on mission”—which Attorney General Pam Bondi then shared, adding, “America’s safety isn’t negotiable. Justice will be pursued. Always.”
Bolton has not yet publicly responded to the probe but had been posting on social media as the search of his home reportedly began, writing at 7:30 a.m. EDT about Trump’s effort to facilitate talks between Russia and Ukraine and saying, “Meetings will continue because Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize, but I don’t see these talks making any progress.”
What To Watch For
The search at Bolton’s home is likely to take at least a few more hours, CNN projected, and it’s unclear how any probe into the former national security advisor will play out from here. It’s also unclear when any court documents regarding the government’s search warrant may be unsealed, which would reveal more information about the reasoning behind going into Bolton’s home.
What Have Trump And Jd Vance Said?
Trump commented on Bolton to reporters Friday morning, saying he “know[s] nothing” about the FBI search on his home but expected to be briefed by the DOJ later Friday. Bolton is “not a smart guy,” the president said, musing that his ex-advisor “could be very unpatriotic and we’re going to find out.” Trump also later commented Friday that he “purposely [doesn’t] really want to get involved in it” and denied Bolton was being targeted for criticizing him, saying Bolton “suffers major ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome,’ but so do a lot of other people” who aren’t being investigated. Vance told “Meet the Press” that the root of the FBI’s investigation includes classified materials but also “a broad concern about” Bolton. Vance also denied the investigation is an act of political retribution, claiming the DOJ was “going to be careful” about bringing any prosecutions against Trump critics “because we don’t think that we should throw people [in prison] even if they disagree with us politically—maybe especially if they disagree with us politically.” The vice president called for critics to “let the investigation unfold,” and said, “They’re going to find out that what we’re doing is being very deliberate and being very driven by the national interest, and by the law.”
Surprising Fact
The probe into Bolton comes just a few weeks after the former national security advisor was asked on ABC News about the possibility that the Trump administration could seek revenge against him, given his repeated criticism of President Donald Trump. Bolton suggested the administration had already “come after me,” citing Trump pulling his security detail, and told ABC, “I think it is a retribution presidency.”
News Peg
The FBI’s search comes as Bolton has ramped up criticism of the Trump administration in recent weeks amid Trump’s efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine and recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Bolton told ABC Trump had made “mistakes” even before his meeting with Putin, for instance, and said on CNN on Thursday he thought the Trump administration had “emboldened” Moscow by suggesting it would not further sanction Russia while talks are ongoing. Trump has hit back at Bolton in response, describing him on Truth Social as “really dumb” and chastising the media for letting the former advisor comment on his Putin meeting.
Who Is John Bolton?
Bolton is a Republican-leaning expert on national security and international relations, who previously served as the ambassador to the United Nations during the George W. Bush administration before joining the first Trump administration as national security advisor from 2018 to 2019. He went on to become an outspoken Trump critic after leaving the White House, and published a book in 2020, “The Room Where It Happened,” that was heavily critical of the president. Trump has repeatedly lashed out against Bolton as a result over the years, and the president’s first administration took action on multiple occasions to seek retribution against Bolton for his book. The DOJ initially sued to block publication of the book, alleging it had not undergone the proper review process for classified information. When the government failed to stop the book from coming out, it also opened a criminal inquiry into whether Bolton disclosed classified information in his book, which is what CNN reports the government is now reopening. Bolton has long denied any wrongdoing and that his book contained any classified information, with his lawyer Charles J. Cooper saying in 2020, “Ambassador Bolton emphatically rejects any claim that he acted improperly, let alone criminally, in connection with the publication of his book, and he will cooperate fully, as he has throughout, with any official inquiry into his conduct.”
What Does John Bolton’s Book Say?
Bolton’s 2020 book makes a number of damaging claims about Trump and his actions during his first term, including that the president gave “personal favors to dictators he liked,” sought help from China in the 2020 election, and told Chinese President Xi Jinping that he thought building internment camps for the country’s Uighur population was “exactly the right thing to do.” Bolton also suggested Trump lacked basic knowledge about foreign policy and other countries, including believing Finland was part of Russia and not knowing the U.K. was a nuclear power. The Trump critic wrote a new introduction to his book in 2024 that harshly criticized the then-candidate and protested his potential reelection, writing, “Trump is unfit to be president,” and arguing, “If his first four years were bad, a second four will be worse.” Bolton also suggested Trump would carry out retribution against his enemies, writing, “Trump really cares only about retribution for himself, and it will consume much of a second term.”
Key Background
The search into Bolton’s home comes after Trump has long suggested he wants to get retribution against his enemies, including through the Justice Department. Trump reportedly sought to appoint officials who would be more “loyal” and willing to go after his enemies, and named Patel as FBI Director after the former right-wing commentator had publicly published an “enemies list” of government figures whom he thought should face consequences. While the massive FBI presence at Bolton’s home Friday marks the administration’s largest show of force against a Trump critic thus far, the Justice Department has launched other probes into perceived Trump enemies, including New York Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
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