FBI Raids John Bolton’s Home as Classified Documents Probe Resurfaces
Federal agents have raided the Maryland home of former Trump national security adviser John Bolton as part of a renewed classified documents investigation, according to multiple reports Friday.
The early-morning raid — carried out around 7 a.m. at Bolton’s residence in Bethesda — was personally authorized by FBI Director Kash Patel, a former Trump administration official told the New York Post.
Patel appeared to allude to the operation in a cryptic post on X shortly afterward:
“NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission.”
A Probe That Refuses to Die
The investigation, tied to Bolton’s alleged mishandling of classified information, was first launched during President Donald Trump’s tenure but was later shelved under the Biden administration “for political reasons,” a senior U.S. official said.
The renewed inquiry zeroes in on Bolton’s controversial 2020 memoir, The Room Where It Happened, which Trump fought to block from publication, arguing it contained national security secrets and breached a nondisclosure agreement Bolton signed as national security adviser.
The Justice Department initially opened an inquiry in September 2020, but no charges were filed. That changed this week, with Patel’s team moving aggressively to revive dormant cases involving classified leaks and government corruption.
Inside the Raid
Federal agents reportedly spent several hours searching Bolton’s home, though details about what they seized remain unclear as of press time. Bolton has not publicly commented and did not respond to inquiries from The Post.
Since leaving Trump’s administration in 2019, Bolton — once a staunch ally — has become one of the former president’s fiercest critics, frequently appearing on cable news to slam Trump’s foreign policy decisions.
Friday’s raid underscores the deepening divide between Trump-era loyalists leading the current Justice Department and Washington figures they accuse of undermining Trump during his presidency.
Declassified Bombshell Adds Fuel to the Fire
The Bolton development comes less than 24 hours after Patel revealed newly declassified FBI memos suggesting former Director James Comey authorized classified leaks to reporters before the 2016 election — directly contradicting his sworn testimony to Congress.
The memos, involving former FBI general counsel James Baker and chief of staff James Rybicki, were discovered earlier this year but remained partially redacted until Attorney General Pam Bondi intervened.
According to one summary memo, U.S. Postal Inspection Service agents concluded that Baker leaked classified material to The New York Times in October 2016 because he believed he was “ultimately instructed and authorized” by Comey. Baker said the order was relayed through Rybicki, which he understood to mean direct authorization from Comey himself.
“These newly declassified memos show how former FBI leadership authorized classified leaks and withheld the truth from Congress and the American people,” Patel said in a statement. “Thanks to President Trump’s commitment to transparency, the cover-up is being exposed. The public deserves nothing less than full accountability.”
Attorney General Bondi called the conduct “abhorrent” and confirmed that her office has assembled a federal strike force to probe the leaks. Harmeet Dhillon, Bondi’s deputy, warned that potential charges could include “deprivation of civil liberties under color of government authority.”
The Bigger Picture: A Decade of Intelligence Abuses?
Patel has opened what he describes as a “comprehensive criminal inquiry” into intelligence abuses stretching back to the 2016 Russia collusion probe and continuing through the Mar-a-Lago documents case.
Legal experts caution the stakes could go beyond historical accountability. While many federal crimes carry a five-year statute of limitations, espionage-related offenses that compromise national security can extend up to 10 years — particularly if prosecutors can argue an ongoing conspiracy.
The Bolton raid signals that Patel’s Justice Department is willing to target high-profile figures, even those who once served in Republican administrations, as part of a sweeping push for transparency and accountability.
For now, the former national security adviser — who famously clashed with Trump and later branded him “unfit for office” — finds himself at the center of a legal and political firestorm with implications that reach far beyond Bethesda.
No charges have been filed, and the FBI has declined to comment on the nature of evidence recovered during the operation.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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