Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents on Friday morning raided the Maryland home and a Washington, D.C. office of John Bolton, a former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, as part of a high-profile national security investigation into the handling of classified documents.
The early-morning raid, which commenced around 7 a.m. local time, was reportedly ordered by FBI Director Kash Patel. Shortly after the operation began, Patel posted on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “NO ONE is above the law @FBI agents on mission.”
Bolton, who has become a vocal critic of President Trump since leaving the administration, was not detained or charged with any crimes, according to a person familiar with the matter. It remains unclear what specific documents agents were seeking or whether any materials were recovered.
The raid reignites a years-old investigation into whether Bolton improperly disclosed classified information in his 2020 memoir, The Room Where It Happened. The first Trump administration attempted to block the book’s publication, but a lawsuit brought by the Justice Department was ultimately dropped in 2021 by the Biden administration.
The timing of the raids has drawn commentary from various figures. Conservative attorney and Trump critic George Conway, a neighbor of Bolton’s in Bethesda, speculated that the raid could be a form of retribution for Bolton’s public criticism of the President. Conversely, some of Trump’s allies, including Roger Stone, have mocked Bolton, suggesting the raid is a form of “karma.”
This action follows President Trump’s earlier moves this year to revoke Bolton’s security clearance and cancel his Secret Service protection, both of which Bolton publicly criticized.