Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
FBI agents raided the Bethesda, Maryland, home and D.C. office of John Bolton, Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, early on Friday morning as part of an investigation into whether he illegally handled classified information. Bolton, who became an outspoken Trump critic after leaving his first administration, has not been detained or charged with any crimes, according to an AP source.
Federal investigators have not given any official statement on why Bolton’s home and residence were searched. “The FBI is conducting court authorized activity in the area. There is no threat to public safety. We have no further comment,” a spokesperson for the bureau said, per the Washington Post.
However, shortly before the New York Post broke news of the raid, FBI director Kash Patel posted on X:
Attorney general Pam Bondi retweeted Patel’s post, adding, “America’s safety isn’t negotiable. Justice will be pursued. Always.” FBI deputy director Dan Bongino did the same, writing, “Public corruption will not be tolerated.”
Bolton has yet to comment on the raids. He was spotted in D.C. on Friday morning, according to the AP:
After the search at Bolton’s home 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 have gone upstairs in the building. Agents were seen taking bags into the office building through a back entrance.
FBI agents work outside the home of John Bolton on August 22, 2025 in Bethesda, Maryland.
Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
While the searches were being conducted, Bolton posted a message about Trump’s handling of Russia’s war in Ukraine on X. This is typical of Bolton’s criticism of Trump’s foreign policy and may have been a scheduled post:
Bolton was George W. Bush’s ambassador to the United Nations during the Iraq War and Donald Trump’s national security adviser from March 2018 until he was fired via Twitter in September 2019. Nine months after exiting the first Trump administration Bolton published a best-selling book criticizing the president. The Trump White House had unsuccessfully tried to block the memoir’s publication. The president repeatedly bashed Bolton during this time, tweeting at one point that he “should be in jail”:
Shortly after the release of Bolton’s book, the Trump Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into whether Bolton unlawfully disclosed classified information in the memoir. The investigation was closed without charges in 2021, during the Biden administration.
On the day he returned to office, Trump revoked the security clearance of 50 former intelligence and high-ranking government officials. The executive order singled out Bolton, saying his book contained sensitive information, and “undermined the ability of future presidents to request and obtain candid advice on matters of national security from their staff.”
Upon returning to office, Trump pulled Bolton’s security clearance. The president also revoked Bolton’s Secret Service protection. Bolton has faced assassination threats from Iran due to his hawkish stance toward the country. Trump also revoked Bolton’s security detail, though the former adviser said he was still receiving threats from Iran, and months earlier the DOJ filed charges over a thwarted Iranian plot to kill Trump.
Federal investigators have launched criminal investigations into multiple Trump critics in recent months, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, Senator Adam Schiff, former FBI director James Comey, and former CIA director John Brennan.
During an appearance earlier this month on ABC’s This Week, Bolton was asked if he was worried about being targeted by Trump since he’s on his “enemies list.”
“Well, I think he’s already come after me and several others in withdrawing the protection that we had for … the Iranians, for the attack on Qasem Suleimani,” Bolton said. “I said in the – in the new forward to the paperback edition of my book, I think it is a retribution presidency.
Trump claimed on Friday morning that he was unaware of the raid, and reiterated that he considers Bolton a “low life”:
This is a developing story and will be updated.
