FBI agents raided the Maryland home of former National Security Advisor John Bolton on Friday morning, Fox News Digital has learned.
Fox News Digital later spotted agents at Bolton's Washington, D.C., office removing boxes and Bolton was seen in the lobby.
The searches are focused on potential classified documents agents believe Bolton may still possess, according to one source.
Bolton, who served as President Donald Trump’s national security advisor from 2018 to 2019, is not in custody or under arrest.
Biden Doj Drops Lawsuit Against John Bolton Over 2020 Book Release
Federal agents reportedly busted into Bolton’s house in Bethesda, Maryland, at around 7 a.m. local time in an investigation ordered by FBI Director Kash Patel, who took to X with a cryptic post minutes later.
"NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission," he wrote without directly referencing the raid.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino shared the post and wrote, "Public corruption will not be tolerated."
Meanwhile, Attorney General Pam Bondi also warned, "America’s safety isn’t negotiable. Justice will be pursued. Always."
The probe was first launched years ago but later shut down by the Biden administration "for political reasons," according to a senior U.S. official.
The Justice Department under Trump’s first administration argued that Bolton’s 2020 memoir, "The Room Where It Happened," contained classified material and sought to block its publication. A federal judge ultimately allowed the book to be published.
Justice Department lawyers argued the book contained classified national security information covering areas like U.S. intelligence sources and methods, foreign policy deliberations and conversations with foreign leaders.
In June 2021, the Biden Justice Department abandoned both a criminal inquiry and civil lawsuit against Bolton over the memoir, ending the legal battle at that time.
Bolton's attorney said at the time that a senior career official in charge of the NSC’s prepublication review process conducted a four-month prepublication review of the book and, after requiring a number of revisions, concluded that it contained no classified information.
The book contained a damning account of the Trump White House, alleging that Trump once "pleaded" with Chinese President Xi Jinping to aid his re-election campaign, among other missteps.
Trump ousted Bolton from his first administration in 2019 because they "disagreed strongly" on policy.
Bolton, known for his hawkish and interventionist approach to foreign policy, has both praised and criticized Trump since leaving his first administration.
In 2022, Bolton said Trump lacked the competence and character to be president.
However, Bolton strongly backed Trump’s military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June, calling it "a decisive action," "the right thing to do," and praising its potential to generate "huge change in the Middle East."
Trump has criticized Bolton for pushing U.S. involvement in wars in the Middle East.
Bolton served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush from August 2005 to December 2006.
Original article source: John Bolton's home and office raided by federal agents
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