Former National Security Advisor John Bolton’s Maryland home was raided by the FBI in connection with a revived investigation into classified documents.
Washington, D.C.: In a dramatic turn of events Friday morning, FBI agents raided the Bethesda, Maryland home of former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton as part of a long-running national security investigation.
The raid was reportedly ordered by FBI Director Kash Patel, who took to social media with a cryptic post just as agents moved in at 7 a.m..
“NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission,” Patel wrote, sparking widespread speculation.
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An Old Probe Resurfaces
According to a senior U.S. official quoted by The New York Post, the operation concerns classified documents tied to an inquiry that first began several years ago. That probe was said to have been shut down during the Biden administration for political reasons, but has now been revived under Patel’s leadership.
Importantly, officials stressed the raid was unrelated to Bolton’s recent media appearances, in which he has frequently criticized Donald Trump’s meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Bolton Fires Back at Trump-Even After the Raid
Despite the early-morning raid, Bolton wasted no time resuming his criticism of Trump. Posting on X (formerly Twitter), the former NSA dismissed the Alaska talks as little more than Trump’s bid for personal glory.
“Russia has not changed its goal: drag Ukraine into a new Russian Empire. Moscow has demanded Ukraine cede territory it already holds and the remainder of Donetsk, which it has been unable to conquer. Zelensky will never do so,” Bolton wrote.
He added that meetings like Trump’s with Putin will continue, not for diplomacy’s sake, but because “Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize.”
A History of Clashes
John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under George W. Bush, served as Trump’s National Security Adviser from 2018 to 2019. His tenure was marked by sharp clashes across the political spectrum, as both Democrats and Republicans bristled at his hardline foreign policy stances.
In recent weeks, Bolton has become an outspoken critic of Trump’s decision to welcome Putin onto U.S. soil. Even President Trump himself has pushed back, calling Bolton’s near-constant commentary “really dumb.”
What Comes Next
The Bethesda raid places Bolton once again in the national spotlight—this time not for his views on foreign policy, but for his role in a classified documents probe that could have wide-reaching political and legal consequences. With Kash Patel signaling a more aggressive FBI approach-“No one is above the law”-this investigation could pull yet another senior Trump-era official into the crosshairs.