FBI Raids John Bolton’s Home and Office in Classified Files Probe

John Bolton, who was Trump’s national security adviser for a little over a year in the President’s first term, is under investigation for illegally possessing and/or sending classified files

According to NBC News, F.B.I agents began to search Republican former Trump national security advisor John R. Bolton’s Maryland home on Friday at 7 a.m. The attorney and Trump critic is being investigated for illegally sharing or possessing physical classified files, which prompted the F.B.I. to search his home and Washington office. Donald Trump incited an investigation against Bolton after the genesis of his 2020 book, “The Room Where it Happened”. During his first term, President Trump tried to block the publishing of the manuscript, which was rejected by the courts. Now, Bolton is under investigation once again, not only for the materials that he collected for his book, but for his actions in the past four years. 

Trump was the fourth president for whom Bolton was a national security advisor, and he was fired, according to Trump, or resigned, according to Bolton, based on disagreements regarding military action. One of Trump’s first actions in his second term was to remove security detail from Bolton, meaning that the Secret Service agents who kept a round-the-clock surveilled eye on Bolton’s home were removed. Now, federal law enforcement is back at the Bolton residence, but it may be retaliatory, rather than protective. 

John Bolton recently criticized Trump’s Alaska summit with Putin in a Tuesday CNN “Situation Room” interview. He stated that he believes that Putin strategically crafted a deal proposition that appealed to Trump’s desire to win a Nobel Peace Prize by ending Russia’s war with Ukraine. 

“That’s the way to Trump’s heart,” Bolton stated. 

Current Republicans in the White House have added to the conversation on Bolton since the raid. As F.B.I. agents descended on the former national security advisor’s residence, Kash Patel posted a message on X that alluded to the F.B.I. raid on the home. 

“NO ONE is above the law… @F.B.I. agents on mission”, Patel posted. 

NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission

— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) August 22, 2025

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Patel was publicly clear about his mistrust of the former security advisor. In his 2023 book, “Government Gangsters”, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation named Bolton as one of the 60 federal government officials that are allegedly a part of the “deep state”, a group that is a secret conspiracy against Trump. During Patel’s confirmation hearing for his new position as Director of the F.B.I., Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar called this an “enemies list”, a phrase that has been repeated by other Democratic critics as well on Patel’s new position. Patel vehemently denies that the list of names in his book’s glossary is an enemies list. 

Another Republican voice in office surrounding Bolton was J.D. Vance, in his Friday exclusive interview with NBC News. Vance stated that the former national security advisor was not targeted due to his criticism of Trump, and is instead being investigated under fair pretenses. 

“We are investigating Amb. Bolton, but if they ultimately bring a case, it will be because they determine that he has broken the law,” Vance stated. “We’re going to be careful about that. We’re going to be deliberate about that, because we don’t think that we should throw people — even if they disagree with us politically, maybe especially if they disagree with us politically — you shouldn’t throw people willy-nilly in prison. You should let the law drive these determinations, and that’s what we’re doing.”