FBI Removing Boxes from John Bolton’s Home

Dear Commons Community,

FBI agents yesterday searched the Bethesda, Maryland, home of former Trump national security adviser John Bolton in connection with a probe about his handling of classified records, according to multiple news reports.

ABC’s Katherine Faulders reported the search was approved by a federal magistrate judge in Maryland.

Bolton told CNN he was unaware of the FBI search, which was first reported by the New York Post, and would look into it.

Trump claimed he wasn’t given advance notice of the search of Bolton’s home.

“I don’t know about it. I saw it on television this morning. I’m not a fan of John Bolton; he’s a real sort of a lowlife,” Trump said.

“He’s not a smart guy, but he could be very unpatriotic,” he continued.

Bolton, who served for 17 months in the national security adviser role in Trump’s first term, has since turned into a fierce critic of the president.

Earlier this year, Trump revoked Bolton’s Secret Service protection as well as his security clearance.

The Department of Justice had launched a criminal investigation into Bolton during Trump’s first term over a book he published in 2020 titled “The Room Where It Happened:

A White House Memoir,” detailing his time in that administration, to look into whether it contained classified national security information. The DOJ had also previously, unsuccessfully tried to block the publication of the book.

“What he did do is he took classified information, and he published it during a presidency,”

Trump told Fox News of Bolton in June 2020. “I believe that he’s a criminal, and I believe, frankly, he should go to jail for that.”

In June 2021, under former President Joe Biden’s administration, the DOJ ended the probe and dropped a lawsuit seeking to block the former Trump official from getting any proceeds from his memoir’s sales.

But CNN reported that criminal investigation has now resumed, citing a source familiar with the matter.

FBI Director Kash Patel, who had included Bolton in a list of enemies he described as “Members of the Executive Branch Deep State” in his book “Government Gangsters,” posted a vague message on social media, appearing to reference the raid.

“NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission,” he said.

Attorney General Pam Bondi shared Patel’s post, adding: “America’s safety isn’t negotiable. Justice will be pursued. Always.”

Vice President JD Vance also reposted Patel’s statement. Vance claimed the investigation isn’t politically motivated in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” Friday.

“We are investigating Ambassador Bolton, but if they ultimately bring a case, it will be because they determine that he has broken the law,” he told moderator Kristen Welker.

“We’re going to be careful about that,” he added. “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. You should let the law drive these determinations, and that’s what we’re doing.”

But Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) told “CNN News Central” the search of Bolton’s home has the echoes of political retribution.

“This is obviously a message sent to John Bolton, but it’s also a message that’s trying to be sent to other potential critics, or current critics of Donald Trump, that if you continue to criticize him … you may be next on his list of targets at the FBI,” Krishnamoorthi said.

Trump had recently taken issue with Bolton’s criticism of his decision to sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, as part of the president’s effort to bring the war in Ukraine to a close. Trump had also accused Bolton of making it much harder for him to secure a peace deal to end the conflict.

Trump retribution continues!

Tony