FBI agents executing a search warrant at former national security adviser John Bolton’s Washington, D.C., office last month seized documents marked as classified, according to a court filing released Tuesday.
The documents appeared to reference weapons of mass destruction, the U.S. mission to the United Nations, and the government’s strategic communications.
The FBI inventory did not specify the number of classified records but listed several folders labeled “confidential” and some pages marked “secret.” One folder’s heading marked “confidential” was redacted in the filing. Agents also searched Bolton’s Bethesda, Maryland, home the same day, seizing computers and electronic devices, though the contents were not detailed.
Search warrant applications indicated investigators were pursuing evidence related to three felony charges, including gathering, transmitting, or retaining national defense information in violation of the Espionage Act. Court filings also revealed Bolton’s AOL email account had been hacked by a foreign entity, though specifics of the alleged intrusion remain unclear.
The FBI reported potentially classified records at Bolton’s office, including travel memos labeled “secret,” confidential U.N. mission documents, strategic communications records, and materials related to weapons of mass destruction.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya, who approved the search warrant, previously oversaw former President Trump’s 2023 grand jury indictment for election interference and arraignment.
Read the Ex B to Addendum – All Warrant Materials (redacted)
