Former White House national security adviser John Bolton arrives at his house following its search by the FBI in Bethesda, Maryland, U.S., August 22, 2025. REUTERS/Tasos Katopodis REFILE - QUALITY UPDATE TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
The FBI raid on the home of President Donald Trump's former National Security Adviser John Bolton is yet another alarming escalation to an authoritarian state, the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote on Friday.
Bolton, a frequent critic of Trump since leaving office, appeared undeterred, posting criticisms of Trump to X as the agents searched his home — but that does little to make the situation less alarming, the board wrote.
Trump's "revenge campaign" on Bolton "took an ominous turn Friday," the board wrote. "They brought two broad warrants to search the 'premises.' Agents showed up unannounced at his Bethesda, Md., home at 7 a.m. They confiscated his wife Gretchen’s phone because it was visible and not on her person. Mr. Bolton had already left for his office, which is where FBI agents greeted him." Meanwhile, FBI Director Kash Patel publicly boasted about the whole operation, posting, "NO ONE is above the law ... @FBI agents on mission."
"It’s hard to see the raid as anything other than vindictive," the board wrote, particularly since it follows similar beats to the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago that led to the criminal classified information removal case against Trump himself.
The investigation possibly stems from Trump's longstanding accusations that Bolton exposed classified information in his tell-all book about his time in the Trump administration — even though, as the board noted, "the book had gone through an extensive pre-publication scrub at the White House for classified material," and the Biden administration saw no need to pursue the matter.
Ultimately, this is a flimsy reason to criminally investigate Bolton, the board wrote — and clearly has ulterior motives.
"The President may also hope the FBI raid will cause Mr. Bolton to shut up, though knowing him we can’t imagine that working," the board concluded. "The real offender here is a President who seems to think he can use the powers of his office to run vendettas. We said this was one of the risks of a second Trump term, and it’s turning out to be worse than we imagined."