FBI raids Maryland home of Trump critic John Bolton
by Ariana Figueroa, Ohio Capital Journal
August 22, 2025
WASHINGTON — FBI agents raided the home and office of former Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, a one-time adviser to President Donald Trump who has become a frequent critic of the president, to investigate Bolton’s handling of classified documents, according to multiple media reports.
The raid on a former Trump adviser’s house represents an escalation from the Justice Department in targeting critics of Trump, whom he vowed to go after should he return to the White House for a second term.
Speaking to reporters Friday, Trump said he was not briefed on the raid of Bolton’s house in the wealthy suburb of Bethesda, Maryland, and office in Washington, D.C., according to White House pool reports.
But the president noted his longstanding feud with his former adviser.
“I’m not a fan of John Bolton,” Trump said. “He’s a real sort of a low life. He could be a very unpatriotic guy. We’re going to find out.”
Earlier this year, the president revoked the security detail for Bolton, who served as Trump’s national security advisor from 2018 to 2019 and as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the George W. Bush administration in 2005 and 2006.
Following his time in the Trump administration, Bolton, who was an important member of the Bush administration’s national security team that favored active military involvement in the Middle East, emerged as a chief Republican foreign policy critic of Trump, authoring a 2020 book that blasted the president and widened the public rift between the two men.
Bolton has not been charged with a crime and is not in custody, according to The Associated Press, which cited a person familiar with the matter.
The first Trump administration launched an investigation into Bolton to probe if he improperly used sensitive information in his book. The current search involves federal officials investigating Bolton’s actions over the last four years, according to the New York Times, which cited a federal law enforcement official.
Trump documents case
Trump himself was prosecuted for mishandling classified documents after the FBI raided his Florida golf course and main residence of Mar-a-Lago in 2022. A federal judge dismissed the resulting criminal charges against Trump.
FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on social media that “NO ONE is above the law,” and that FBI agents were “on mission.”
The FBI declined to comment.
In 2020, the Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into Bolton’s book and tried to block its publication, but were stymied in court.
Patel also wrote a 2023 book where he lists Bolton, along with a dozen other people, as members of the “deep state” who are working against Trump, according to the Times.
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Bolton, known for his outspoken criticism of former President Donald Trump, has not faced any charges or been taken into custody. The search, which is reportedly linked to actions taken over the last four years, represents a notable intensification in the Justice Department’s examination of officials and critics from the Trump administration.
Bolton wrote a book in 2020 that was highly critical of Trump, which led to an earlier DOJ investigation and legal efforts to prevent its publication. That legal challenge was unsuccessful in court. The ongoing investigation seems to be a continuation of worries regarding Bolton’s handling of sensitive information.
