The August FBI raid on the Maryland home of President Trump’s former national security advisor, John Bolton, is part of an ongoing federal investigation into potential violations of two laws, including the Espionage Act, the same statutes involved in the 2022 Mar-a-Lago investigation, according to a search warrant unsealed Thursday.
Bolton, who served as national security advisor under Trump in 2018 and 2019, is now being investigated for the unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material, according to court records.
FBI agents recovered multiple computers, phones, hard drives, and a binder labeled “Statements and Reactions to Allied Strikes” during the August 22 raid of Bolton’s Bethesda, Maryland, residence. Investigators also seized folders labeled “Trump I-IV,” the unsealed documents show.
The raid, ordered by FBI Director Kash Patel, was described as a continuation of a “national security probe” initially launched in 2020 following the release of Bolton’s book, The Room Where It Happened. The Trump White House attempted to block publication, citing concerns over classified material, but ultimately failed. The investigation stemmed from White House allegations that Bolton violated rules regarding classified information in the book.
The Biden administration later closed the probe after Trump left office. “This is a national security case that was closed by the Biden administration. Kash reopened it, and Kash reignited it,” an FBI official told the New York Sun.
When Trump returned to office in 2025, he withdrew Bolton’s Secret Service detail — which Bolton had retained after leaving government due to death threats — stating that Bolton could afford his own security.
