Bolton was previously accused of mishandling classified information

Bernd Debusmann Jr

Reporting from Washington DC

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, John Bolton pictured in September 2024

Bolton had previously been accused of mishandling classified information in his 2020 book “The Room Where it Happened” – an account of his time in the first Trump administration between 2018 and 2019.

The allegations prompted a lawsuit from the Justice Department, which told a judge in 2019 that it was a “flagrant breach” of an agreement to not disclose classified matters.

The lawsuit was ultimately dropped in June 2021, during the administration of President Joe Biden.

There were no further details in FBI Director Kash Patel’s X post, saying “no one is above the law”, during the time of the raid, and it is unclear what he was referring to.

His post was re-tweeted by Attorney General Pam Bondi, who added that “America’s safety isn’t negotiable. Justice will be pursued. Always”.

Bolton – who was previously ambassador to the UN during the Bush administration – had his security protection stripped by the Trump administration in January, along with several other former officials who have previously clashed with the president.

Since leaving government in 2019, Bolton has become a vocal critic of Trump, and wrote in his book that “a mountain of facts demonstrates that Trump is unfit to be president”.