An FBI raid on the residence of former National Security Advisor John Bolton was apparently tied to claims that he used a private email server to convey sensitive documents to his family.
Bolton, who has now turned against Donald Trump after being booted from the White House during his first term, was at home when the 7:00 a.m. raid on his D.C.-area residence occurred, a source familiar with the matter reportedly told the Daily Mail.
A senior US official told the Daily Mail that the raid, ordered by FBI Director Kash Patel, was part of an inquiry into Bolton’s use of his work account to communicate private national security documents to his wife and daughter.
He supposedly did this just before Trump sacked him in September 2019. The investigation continued after Trump left office, but was halted by the Biden administration.
A senior US official told the Post that Bolton “was literally stealing classified information, utilizing his family as a cutout” while he still worked there.
Patel appeared to publicly address the raid, posting to X: “NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission.”
The ex-Trump adviser and harsh critic returned to his house in Bethesda, Maryland, Friday evening, about eight hours after the FBI raided it.
Bolton nodded to the cameras but declined to answer questions from the press as he entered his home to greet his wife, who was visibly upset by the FBI sweep.
Throughout the raid, which began at 7 a.m. ET, more than a dozen federal agents were spotted moving boxes into and out of his home. Other agents were seen entering Bolton’s downtown Washington, DC, office.
According to the Daily Mail, Bolton was home when the raid began, but he was not spotted, leaving his exact location unknown.
Instead, cameras caught sight of his distraught wife, Gretchen Smith Bolton, at the front entrance, conversing with federal authorities on Friday morning.
Gretchen walked away from the door as agents entered the Bolton home in Bethesda, one of the wealthiest communities in the United States.
President Donald Trump reacted to the Bolton controversy by comparing it to the raid on his Mar-a-Lago home in 2022.
Speaking in the Oval Office, the president stated that he was not involved in its execution, but then ripped into his adversary.
“I purposely don’t want to really get involved in it. I’m not a fan of John Bolton. My house was raided also… So I know the feeling. It’s not a good feeling,” Trump said.
An investigation against Bolton was initially begun in 2020, but an administration official told the Daily Mail that it was halted during President Joe Biden’s administration for “political reasons.” Patel’s FBI has resumed the high-profile investigation.
Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, stripped Bolton of his security clearance after he was previously granted access to some of the world’s most confidential intelligence.
Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser from April 2018 to September 2019, has been in conflict with the president since leaving the first administration.
He frequently appears in television interviews criticizing Trump’s national security agenda and foreign policies.
As a result, Bolton has emerged as one of the former officials targeted by the president since resuming office this year.
Trump slammed Bolton as a “lowlife” and “not a smart guy.”
“He doesn’t talk, he’s like a very quiet person except on television and then he can say something bad about Trump. He’ll always do that. But he doesn’t talk, he’s very quiet,” Trump told reporters.
The raid on Bolton’s house comes after Hillary Clinton was investigated for using a private email server while Secretary of State, which helped wreck her 2016 presidential campaign.