National security adviser John Bolton listens April 9, 2018, as President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington.
ERIC TUCKER Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The FBI searched the Maryland home and Washington office of former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton on Friday as part of a criminal investigation into the potential mishandling of classified information, a person familiar with the matter said.
Bolton, who emerged as an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump after being fired in 2019 and fought with the first Trump administration over a scathing book he wrote documenting his time in the White House, was not in custody Friday and wasn’t charged with any crimes, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
The searches, seemingly the most significant public step the Justice Department has taken against a perceived enemy of the president, are likely to elicit fresh concerns that the Trump administration is using its law enforcement powers to target the Republican’s foes.
They come as the Trump administration examines the activities of other critics, including by authorizing a grand jury investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe that dogged Trump for much of his first term, and as FBI and Justice Department leaders signal their loyalty to the president.
Speaking to reporters during an unscheduled visit to the White House Historical Association, Trump said he saw news coverage of Friday’s searches and expected to be briefed about it by the Justice Department but also claimed he didn’t “want to know about it.”
“I could know about it. I could be the one starting it. I’m actually the chief law enforcement officer. But I feel that it’s better this way,” Trump said.
Bolton said in interviews this year he was aware he could be scrutinized, telling the AP in January shortly before Trump took office, “Anybody who ever disagrees with Trump has to worry about retribution. It’s a pretty long list.”
An FBI search like the one at Bolton’s properties requires authorization from a federal magistrate judge. It wasn’t immediately clear what information authorities submitted to demonstrate that they had probable cause of a crime, though the Justice Department years ago launched an investigation into whether Bolton improperly disclosed classified information in a book manuscript he wrote. The inquiry was later closed.
Vice President JD Vance denied in an NBC News interview on Friday that Bolton was targeted because of his criticism of Trump.
“If there’s no crime here, we’re not going to prosecute it. If there is a crime here, of course, Ambassador Bolton will get his day in court,” he said. “That’s how it should be.”
Bolton in his office
Bolton was not home for the search of his home, but after it started, he was spotted Friday morning standing in the lobby of the Washington building where he keeps an office and talking to two people with “FBI” visible on their vests. He left a few minutes later and appeared to go upstairs in the building.
Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts
Messages left with a spokesperson for Bolton were not immediately returned, and a lawyer who represented Bolton had no immediate comment.
The Justice Department had no comment, but leaders appeared to cryptically refer to the searches in a series of social media posts Friday morning.
FBI Director Kash Patel, who included Bolton on a list of “members of the Executive Branch Deep State” in a 2023 book he wrote, posted on social media: “NO ONE is above the law … @FBI agents on mission.” Attorney General Pam Bondi shared his post, adding: “America’s safety isn’t negotiable. Justice will be pursued. Always.”
The Justice Department is separately conducting mortgage fraud investigations into Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California and New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought a civil fraud lawsuit against Trump and his company, and ex-Trump prosecutor Jack Smith faces an investigation from an independent watchdog office. Schiff and James vigorously deny wrongdoing.
The Bolton searches also unfolded against the backdrop of a 2022 search for classified documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, an action that produced since-dismissed criminal charges but remains the source of outrage for the president and supporters who insist he was unjustly targeted despite the retrieval of top-secret records.
Patel said in a Fox Business Channel interview this week that the Mar-a-Lago search represented a “total weaponization and politicization” of the bureau, and Trump referenced it on Friday, telling reporters: “I guess his house was raided today, but my house was raided, also.”
At odds for years
Bolton served as Trump’s third national security adviser for 17 months and clashed with him over Iran, Afghanistan and North Korea.
He faced scrutiny during the first Trump administration over a book he wrote about his time in government that officials claimed contained classified information.
To make its case, the Justice Department in 2020 submitted sworn statements from senior White House officials, including then-National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone, asserting that Bolton’s manuscript included classified information that could harm national security if exposed.
Bolton’s lawyers said he moved forward with the book after a White House National Security Council official, with whom Bolton worked for months, said the manuscript no longer contained classified information.
The Biden administration Justice Department in 2021 abandoned its lawsuit and dropped a separate grand jury investigation, with Bolton’s lawyer calling the effort to block the book “politically motivated” and illegitimate.
Bolton’s harshly critical book, “The Room Where It Happened,” portrayed Trump as grossly ill-informed about foreign policy and said he “saw conspiracies behind rocks, and remained stunningly uninformed on how to run the White House, let alone the huge federal government.”
Trump responded by slamming Bolton as a “crazy” warmonger who would have led the country into “World War Six.”
Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter
Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email.
Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
