FBI agents raided the Maryland home of John Bolton, the former national security advisor to Donald Trump and one of his fiercest critics, early Thursday morning, NBC News confirmed.
The raid is tied to a national security investigation involving classified records, according to a person familiar with the matter. While officials would not directly confirm Bolton’s involvement, the FBI acknowledged they were carrying out “court-authorized activity” and stressed that there was “no threat to public safety.” The statement suggests a judge approved a search warrant for Bolton’s residence in Bethesda, just outside Washington, D.C.
At around the same time agents arrived, FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X: “NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi amplified Patel’s post, writing: “America’s safety isn’t negotiable. Justice will be pursued. Always.” Meanwhile, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino added, “Public corruption will not be tolerated.”
The New York Post was first to report the raid, noting that Patel himself ordered the investigation into Bolton.
The move comes against a backdrop of legal battles between Trump and his former advisor. Trump was indicted in Florida over classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago after he left the White House in January 2021, though the Justice Department dropped the case in late 2024 after his reelection—citing the long-standing policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
Bolton, who served as Trump’s national security advisor from 2018 to 2019, has had his own share of clashes with the Justice Department. In 2020, during Trump’s final year in office, DOJ lawyers sued to stop the release of Bolton’s memoir, The Room Where It Happened, claiming it contained classified material. The Biden administration dropped the lawsuit in mid-2021.
Bolton is also well known for his earlier role as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush.
