Federal agents searched the Maryland home and Washington, D.C. office of former National Security Adviser John Bolton on August 22, 2025, in a dramatic escalation of a criminal investigation into the potential mishandling of classified information. The FBI operation, confirmed by multiple officials and widely reported by outlets including ABC News and The Associated Press, marks the most significant public step yet in a saga that has pitted Bolton—a one-time Trump insider turned vocal critic—against the current administration and its law enforcement apparatus.
According to The Independent, the raids were part of an inquiry related to classified documents and were authorized by a federal magistrate judge based on probable cause. Vice President JD Vance confirmed the existence of a new law enforcement probe into Bolton, describing the investigation as being in its “very early stages.” Vance told NBC News, “If there’s no crime here, we’re not going to prosecute it. If there is a crime here, of course, Ambassador Bolton will get his day in court. That’s how it should be.”
Bolton, who served as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser from 2018 to 2019 before a very public falling out, was not in custody and has not been charged with any crimes as of Friday, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The former adviser was seen at his Washington office during the search, talking with agents wearing “FBI” vests, but he left shortly thereafter without making a public statement. His spokesperson and attorney both declined to comment when contacted by reporters.
The timing of the raid has fueled speculation about political motives. Just nine days earlier, on August 13, Trump publicly lambasted Bolton on social media, calling him “really dumb.” The president’s relationship with Bolton has been fraught for years, with public disagreements over foreign policy and, more recently, over Bolton’s scathing memoir, The Room Where It Happened. In the book, Bolton painted Trump as “grossly ill-informed about foreign policy,” a claim that the former president has repeatedly and forcefully denied. Trump, for his part, responded by labeling Bolton a “crazy” warmonger who “would have led the country into World War Six.”
Bolton’s memoir, published in 2020, triggered a criminal investigation by the Department of Justice over whether he disclosed classified information. Senior White House officials, including then-National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone, submitted sworn statements asserting that the manuscript contained material that could harm national security. Bolton’s legal team argued that a National Security Council official had already cleared the book of classified content. While the Trump administration initially tried to block publication and launched a criminal probe, both efforts were dropped under President Biden’s Justice Department in 2021, with Bolton’s lawyer calling the previous actions “politically motivated” and “illegitimate.”
The current investigation appears to have reignited old controversies. FBI Director Kash Patel, who has previously named Bolton among “members of the Executive Branch Deep State,” posted on social media Friday morning: “NO ONE is above the law … @FBI agents on mission.” Attorney General Pam Bondi echoed Patel’s sentiment, writing, “America’s safety isn’t negotiable. Justice will be pursued. Always.”
The search has drawn skepticism and criticism from across the political spectrum, including from typically supportive right-wing media. On Fox News’ America’s Newsroom, former assistant FBI director Chris Swecker expressed concern about the optics of the raid, noting, “We’re looking at this a little bit skeptically because we were very heavily critical of the Mar-a-Lago raid. Just because you have the authority and discretion to do something like this, doesn’t mean you should.” Swecker emphasized that every federal search is predicated on an affidavit showing probable cause, but warned, “We just don’t want to see the FBI weaponized for the other side, if you will, just turning the playbook over.”
Attorney and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley highlighted the “longstanding disagreement” between Trump and Bolton, adding, “There is a great concern about whether this is retaliation against a political opponent. We just don’t know because we haven’t seen the warrant, we haven’t seen the affidavit.” The Wall Street Journal editorial board went further, describing the raid as “vindictive,” and suggesting that Trump’s actions—including the removal of Bolton’s protective detail after the 2024 election—were part of a broader campaign to silence critics.
For his part, Trump told reporters on August 22 that he was not aware of the raids until after they happened. “I saw it on television this morning,” he said, adding that he “wasn’t a fan” of Bolton and drawing a parallel to his own experience. “My house was raided also,” Trump noted, referencing the 2022 FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago estate over classified documents. That investigation led to a federal grand jury indictment, but the case was later dismissed by a Trump-appointed judge after his 2024 election victory, and special counsel Jack Smith withdrew his appeals.
Bolton has made no public statement since the raids, but earlier this month he accused Trump of running a “retribution presidency” and warned that the president had “already come after me and several others.” Bolton alluded to the revocation of his security detail, which he had received following threats against his life from Iran, as evidence of Trump’s willingness to target political enemies. In a January interview with the Associated Press, Bolton remarked, “Anybody who ever disagrees with Trump has to worry about retribution. It’s a pretty long list.”
The Justice Department has not commented on the specifics of the search or the investigation. However, the backdrop of ongoing probes into other Trump critics—including Democratic Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James—has only added to the perception of a highly charged political environment. Both Schiff and James have denied any wrongdoing, and the investigations into them remain ongoing.
As the dust settles from the FBI’s surprise searches, questions linger about the true motivations behind the raid and the future of the investigation. Was this a legitimate inquiry into possible mishandling of classified information, or a politically motivated act of retribution? With the affidavit and warrant still sealed, the public is left to wonder—and to wait for the next chapter in this unfolding drama.
