Agents conducted the operation at Bolton’s Maryland residence as part of a high-profile national security investigation ordered by FBI Director Kash Patel. The inquiry is believed to be about classified information Bolton was accused of illegally leaking in his 2020 book, The Room Where it Happened, according to the New York Post and other outlets.
Bolton was an aide to Trump in his first presidential term and has become critical of his foreign policy stance, including over his work to negotiate peace deals to end the Ukraine-Russia war and hostilities in Iran. The war hawk was Trump’s national security adviser but was fired in 2019 after numerous foreign policy disagreements, including over the president’s work to seek peace deals or nuclear deals with North Korea, Iran, and the Taliban.
After he was ousted as national security adviser, Bolton wrote a memoir chronicling his tenure at the White House. Former government officials have to submit their manuscripts to the National Security Council before publication to ensure classified information isn’t included. Bolton submitted his book but told his publisher to move ahead before written confirmation was given by the council, leading the Justice Department to open an inquiry into the book in September 2020. The following year, the DOJ dropped the investigation “for political reasons,” critics alleged, after Joe Biden assumed the presidency and installed new leadership at the agency.
The FBI’s Friday raid appeared to confirm another swing back to renewed federal scrutiny of Bolton. On social media, senior officials seemed to weigh in on the operation in cryptic messages.
“NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission,” Patel said.
Attorney General Pam Bondi reposted Patel’s statement, adding: “America’s safety isn’t negotiable. Justice will be pursued. Always.”
Bolton was not detained or charged after the raid, according to the Associated Press.
JOHN BOLTON UNLOADS ON STEVE WITKOFF: ‘HE KNOWS NOTHING’
Bolton had his security clearance and Secret Service detail revoked in January amid backlash from the Trump camp.
In the first hours of his second term, Trump ended the protection, which critics said left Bolton vulnerable to attacks from Iran as he was involved in the assassination of Gen. Qassem Soleimani during Trump’s first term.
