Jose Luis Magana/AP
The FBI on Friday raided the Maryland home of John Bolton, who served as national security adviser during President Donald Trump’s first term before becoming a vocal Trump critic. Agents were seen entering Bolton’s home around 7 am ET, nearly the exact same time that FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X: “NO ONE is above the law…@FBI agents on mission.”
The probe, which reportedly relates to a previous investigation launched during Trump’s first term over whether Bolton improperly handled classified information, is the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s use of law enforcement powers against perceived enemies. Though Patel’s Friday social media post did not explicitly refer to the Bolton raid, the two men have a fractious history. Bolton made several appearances in Patel’s 2024 book The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy, including in an infamous appendix listing “Members of the Executive Branch Deep State.” In the book, Patel also blasted Bolton as an “arrogant control freak” and personally blamed Bolton for delaying Patel’s hiring in the first Trump administration.
Bolton has been especially outspoken in recent weeks over Trump’s negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In turn, Trump attacked Bolton on Truth Social as “really dumb.”
This is a breaking news post. We’ll update as more developments become available.