The FBI raided the Bethesda, Maryland, home and office of John Bolton early Friday morning. Agents entered the residence of the former national security adviser to President Trump, who has since become one of his critics following the president’s return to the White House.
According to NBC News, the court-authorized search was part of a “national security investigation in search of classified records.”
Bolton, 76, served for 17 months during President Trump’s first term. The U.S. Justice Department has not issued a statement, but FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X shortly after the raid, writing: “NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino also weighed in with statements on social media. Bondi wrote: “America’s safety isn’t negotiable. Justice will be pursued. Always.” Bongino added: “Public corruption will not be tolerated.”
Bolton has a long history of disputes with Trump and his administration. As Breitbart News previously reported, the White House warned him in 2020 to postpone publishing his book, citing “significant amounts of classified information” within the manuscript.
In a letter dated January 23, Ellen Knight, then Senior Director for Records, Access, and Information Security Management at the National Security Council, informed Bolton’s legal team that his memoir, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, contained classified material that needed to be removed before release.
