Ex-Trump official John Bolton criticizes president while FBI raids his home
Trump Photo: Joseph Sohm/Shutterstock
John Bolton photo by Christopher Halloran
August 22, 2025
John Bolton tweeted out criticism of President Donald Trump's handling of the Russia-Ukraine war as FBI agents raided his home.
Federal investigators executed a court-approved search warrant at the former national security adviser's Maryland home on Friday morning as part of a probe into his handling of classified materials, but Trump has been threatening to jail his former appointee since publishing a highly critical book on him five years ago.
"Russia has not changed its goal: drag Ukraine into a new Russian Empire," Bolton posted on X at 7:32 a.m., while agents were at his house. "Moscow has demanded that Ukraine cede territory it already holds and the remainder of Donetsk, which it has been unable to conquer. Zelensky will never do so."
"Meanwhile, meetings will continue because Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize," he added, "but I don't see these talks making any progress."
It's not clear whether Bolton, who linked to an NPR interview from two days earlier criticizing the president, was aware that agents were at his home at the time of his X post.
CNN reported at 7:44 a.m. that Bolton, who was not home at the time, said he was not aware of "this FBI activity."