FBI searches home of former Trump NSA John Bolton

The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) has searched the Maryland home of John Bolton, the former national security adviser (NSA) under US President Donald Trump who later broke ranks to criticise the president, as part of an inquiry into the handling of classified material, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Bolton was neither detained nor charged. The individual, who was not authorised to discuss the case publicly, spoke anonymously to the Associated Press. Messages to Bolton’s office and to the White House went unanswered, while his lawyer also offered no comment. The Justice Department likewise declined to explain the operation, though its leaders appeared to allude to it online.

FBI director Kash Patel, who in a 2023 book listed Bolton among “members of the Executive Branch Deep State”, posted on X: “NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission.” Attorney-general Pam Bondi echoed him: “America's safety isn't negotiable. Justice will be pursued. Always.”

The raid is part of a broader pattern. The Trump administration has launched investigations into several of the president’s perceived adversaries, including a grand jury inquiry into the origins of the Trump–Russia probe.

Mortgage fraud cases have been opened against Democratic senator Adam Schiff of California and New York attorney-general Letitia James, both outspoken critics of Trump, while special prosecutor Jack Smith is himself under scrutiny by an independent watchdog. Schiff and James “have vigorously denied any wrongdoing through their lawyers”.

Bolton, asked earlier this month in an ABC interview if he feared reprisals, said Trump had “already come after” him by revoking his security detail, adding: “I think it is a retribution presidency.”

The fraught relationship between Trump and Bolton goes back to his 17-month stint as NSA, during which the two men clashed over Iran, Afghanistan and North Korea.

BREAKING: The FBI raided the home of John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser turned fierce Trump critic.

FBI Director Kash Patel tweeted, “No one is above the law… FBI agents on mission.”

This is what authoritarianism looks like. pic.twitter.com/KaP8BErokw

— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) August 22, 2025

The controversy intensified with the publication of Bolton’s memoir The Room Where It Happened. Officials initially claimed it disclosed classified information, and the Justice Department pursued legal action before dropping both a lawsuit and a grand jury investigation in 2021. Bolton’s lawyers insist he only published after receiving assurances from a National Security Council official that “the manuscript no longer contained classified information”.

On his first day back in office this year, Trump revoked security clearances for more than four dozen former intelligence officials, including Bolton. Earlier in the year, Bolton was also among those whose security details were cancelled.

In his book, Bolton accused Trump of being dangerously ignorant, writing that the president “saw conspiracies behind rocks, and remained stunningly uninformed on how to run the White House, let alone the huge federal government”. Trump responded by calling Bolton a “crazy” war-monger who would have led the United States into “World War Six”.

TEN DAYS AGO
Karl: You're obviously on his enemies list-- Kash Patel's enemies' list. Are you worried they are gonna come after you?

John Bolton: He's already come after me and several others-- in withdrawing the protection that we had. I think it is a retribution presidency. pic.twitter.com/94amcRjzdX

— Ron Smith (@Ronxyz00) August 22, 2025

Bolton’s foreign policy career extends well beyond Trump. He had a controversial stint as ambassador to the United Nations under George W. Bush and held senior posts in the Reagan administration. He also considered presidential runs in 2012 and 2016.

He was also the target of a 2022 assassination plot supposedly arising out of his hawkish views on Iran: an Iranian operative was charged with planning to kill him in retaliation for the US airstrike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. At the time, Bolton tweeted: “Hope this is the first step to regime change in Tehran.”

The FBI’s raid adds a new chapter to Bolton’s long conflict with Trump. While officials insist the case is about classified information, the broader context — Trump’s eagerness to pursue rivals under criminal or security pretexts — suggests the former adviser’s warning of a “retribution presidency” may have been prescient.

With AP/PTI inputs