Former Donald Trump advisor John Bolton is the subject of an early morning raid being conducted by the FBI, The Bulwark is reporting.
Bolstered by live video being streamed by Lawfare’s Ben Wittes which shows the street being blocked off by Montgomery County police, the Bulwark’s Jonathan Last is reporting, “Montgomery County police confirmed that they were on site in support of the FBI.”
Bolton has become a major critic of the Trump administration critic of the Trump administration since leaving under a cloud during the president’s first term, where the longtime advisor to presidents provided guidance on the Middle East.
The raid comes just days after the former Trump appointee criticized his former boss over his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Just over a week ago, Trump lashed out at Bolton and the media, which platforms Bolton, by writing on Truth Social, “Constantly quoting fired losers and really dumb people like John Bolton, who just said that, even though the meeting is on American soil, ‘Putin has already won.’ What’s that all about? We are winning on everything. The fake news is working overtime (no tax on overtime)!”
As the raid began, FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X, "NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission."
The New York Post is reporting, "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."
MSNBC is reporting that the FBI is searching for documents related to national security.
As the Bulwark’s Last noted, “It is uncertain what the law enforcement presence pertains to, but Bolton was the target of an investigation at the end of Trump’s first term for allegedly disclosing classified information in his 2020 memoir, The Room Where It Happened.”
This story will be updated as more information comes in.