The FBI on Friday searched the Maryland home and the Washington, D.C. office of John Bolton, former national security adviser to President Trump, as part of an ongoing federal investigation.
Bolton, who was appointed in the middle of Trump’s first term and served about 17 months, is now a fierce critic of the president.
He’s being investigated over the potential mishandling of classified information, according to a person familiar with the matter. He has not been detained and has not been charged with any crimes, the source told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
Bolton was reportedly not home when FBI agents searched his residence. Later Friday morning, he was seen in the lobby of his Washington office building talking with two people wearing FBI vests. He left a few minutes later, apparently heading upstairs, while agents carried bags and boxes through a back entrance.
Such FBI searches require approval from a federal judge, but it’s not yet clear what evidence investigators have that Bolton may have mishandled classified information.
Less than a year after the end of his tumultuous tenure, the Republican consultant and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations published a nearly 600-page book chronicling his time in the Trump administration and portraying the 45th president as impulsive and unprepared on foreign policy.
When speaking with reporters on Friday, Trump criticized his former ally as “a low life” and a “very unpatriotic guy.” He also said he was “not a fan” of Bolton, but claimed he had no prior knowledge of the raid.
In an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Vice President JD Vance confirmed the administration was “in the very early stages of an ongoing investigation into John Bolton,” but denied the move was politically motivated.
If the FBI ultimately brings a case against Bolton, “it will be because they determined that he has broken the law,” Vance told the show’s moderator, Kristen Welker.
“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,” he added.
In an apparent yet vague reference to the raid, FBI Director Kash Patel tweeted early Friday morning that “NO ONE is above the law,” saying FBI agents were “on [a] mission.”
With News Wire Services
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