The FBI raided the Maryland home of former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton early Friday morning as part of a high-profile national security probe.
Federal agents entered Bolton’s residence in Bethesda around 7 a.m.
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the raid in a post to X shortly after it began:
“NO ONE is above the law… FBI agents on mission,” Patel wrote on X.
Linked to Classified Documents Probe
The raid is reportedly tied to a classified documents investigation first launched years ago. That probe had previously been shut down under the Biden administration “for political reasons,” but has now been revived under Trump.
Bolton has long faced scrutiny over whether he mishandled classified information, particularly in connection with his 2020 memoir, The Room Where It Happened. At the time, Trump administration officials accused Bolton of disclosing sensitive national security material without proper clearance.
Trump Responds to Raid
President Trump said Friday that he was not given advance notice of the FBI search but used the opportunity to blast his former adviser.
“He’s not a smart guy. But he could be a very unpatriotic guy. We’re going to find out. I know nothing about it. I just saw it this morning, they did a raid,” Trump told reporters.
Trump added that while he expects the Justice Department to brief him later, he prefers to stay out of the operational details:
“I tell [Attorney General Pam Bondi], and I tell the group, I don’t want to know, but you have to do what you have to do. I don’t want to know about it. It’s not necessary. 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.”
He also called Bolton a “lowlife” who had betrayed his administration.
FBI Yet to Release Details
The FBI has not publicly disclosed specifics of Friday’s search beyond confirming it was connected to a national security case.
Bolton, who was fired by Trump in 2018, has since become one of the former president’s most vocal critics, frequently appearing in media to denounce his foreign policy.
