FBI raids home of former Trump adviser John Bolton in high-profile national security probe. Who is he?

FBI agents Friday raided the DC-area home of President of Donald Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton in a high-profile national security probe, reports news agency AP. The raids are being conducted as part of an investigation into the handling of classified documents, a person familiar with the matter told AP.

John Bolton served in Trump's first administration as national security adviser but later became critical of the president. Bolton was not detained and has not been charged with any crimes, the person said.

It is yet to be clear what agents were seeking or whether any materials were recovered. The FBI and Justice Department have not commented on the matter yet.


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John Bolton raided by FBI

Federal agents busted into Bolton’s house in Bethesda, Md., at 7 a.m. in an investigation ordered by FBI Director Kash Patel, a Trump administration official told The Post. “NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission,” he said in a cryptic post to X shortly after the raid began.

The probe was first launched years ago, but the Biden administration shut it down “for political reasons,” according to a senior US official. Bolton has previously been accused of including classified information in his 2020 book, “The Room Where It Happened", as per reports. President Trump tried to block its release, arguing that it contained national security secrets and claiming Bolton had violated an NDA tied to his employment, but his efforts ultimately failed.

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Who is John Bolton?

John Bolton, who served as Trump’s third national security adviser for 17 months, often clashed with him on issues involving Iran, Afghanistan, and North Korea. During Trump’s first term, Bolton drew scrutiny over a memoir that officials claimed revealed classified information, though the Justice Department ultimately dropped both its lawsuit and a related grand jury probe in 2021.

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When Trump returned to office this year, one of his first moves was to revoke the security clearances of more than four dozen former intelligence officials and John Bolton among them. He was also part of a small group of former Trump aides whose protective security details were canceled earlier in the year. The ex-Trump adviser has been at odds with his old boss since, regularly appearing on cable news criticizing the president’s national security and foreign policy.

John Bolton's criticism of tariffs

The FBI raids at John Bolton's house comes days after the former White House official weighed in on US tariff policy. Tariffs imposed on India by Trump for purchases of Russian oil may have pushed New Delhi further into the Beijing-Moscow axis and this lack of focus by Washington is an "unforced error". He made the comments a day before the "high-stakes" summit meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

"When Trump slapped tariffs on India for buying Russian oil, but not China which also purchases Russia oil, it may have pushed India further into the Beijing-Moscow axis. This lack of focus by the Trump Admin is an unforced error," Bolton said in a post on X.

In an interview to CNN, Bolton noted that the White House has imposed secondary tariffs on countries like India for buying oil and gas from Russia.

"They have slapped the 25 per cent tariff on India, although it hasn't gone into effect yet. I can tell you the reaction in India to that, particularly with no tariff slapped on China, which bought an awful lot more oil and gas from Russia, is the Indians are incandescent about this," Bolton said.

Bolton referred to the possible visit by Putin to India later this year and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming visit to China for the first time since 2018. "Obviously both Moscow and Beijing are going to try to bring India closer to them. I mean, this could have negative consequences (for the US), because it wasn't well thought through," Bolton said.

Trump calls Bolton 'not a smart guy'

Making a surprise appearance at The People's House museum exhibit near the actual White House, President Donald Trump called John Bolton 'not a smart guy,' 'could be a very unpatriotic guy'.

"I could know about it. I could be the one starting, and I'm actually the chief law enforcement officer. But I feel that it's better this way."

"I know nothing about it. I just saw it this morning … I tell [Attorney General] Pam [Bondi] and I tell the group, 'I don't want to know, but you have to do what you have to do. I don't want to know about it. It's not necessary.'

(With agency inputs)