FBI agents raided the Washington, D.C.-area home of former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton on Friday morning as part of a documents-related investigation, according to a source cited by the Associated Press.
The operation began around 7 a.m. at Bolton’s residence in Bethesda, Maryland, and was reportedly carried out under orders from FBI Director Kash Patel, a Trump administration official told the New York Post.
Shortly after the raid was underway, Patel posted a cryptic message on X, writing: “NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission.”
The raid comes just days after Bolton made public remarks on U.S. tariff policy. His comments preceded a scheduled summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska.
In a previous interview with HT, Bolton described Donald Trump as an “aberrational president” and argued that the India-U.S. relationship is in “a very bad place.” He also criticized what he viewed as Washington’s “confused” approach toward India, particularly the decision to impose a 25 percent tariff penalty on New Delhi while exempting China from similar treatment.
The former Trump advisor was referring to the additional 25 percent tariff the U.S. placed on India for its Russian oil imports, which raised total levies to 50 percent.
Bolton has been outspoken about the president’s recent trade measures. In a post on X last week, he wrote: “When Trump slapped tariffs on India for buying Russian oil, but not China which also purchases Russia oil, it may have pushed India further into the Beijing-Moscow axis. This lack of focus by the Trump Admin is an unforced error.”
John Bolton served as Trump’s third national security adviser for 17 months and often clashed with the president on policy issues including Iran, Afghanistan, and North Korea, according to the Associated Press.
The Trump administration previously sought to block the release of Bolton’s memoir, arguing it contained classified material.
Since returning to office earlier this year, President Trump revoked the security clearances of more than 40 former intelligence officials — a list that included Bolton. He was one of three former Trump aides whose security details were also cancelled.
