Former National Security Adviser John Bolton speaks to reporters after speaking in a panel hosted by the National Council of Resistance of Iran – U.S. Representative Office (NCRI-US) at the Willard InterContinental Hotel on August 17, 2022 in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images

FBI agents on Thursday morning raided the Maryland home of John Bolton, the former national security advisor to President Donald Trump and a staunch critic of the president, NBC News confirmed. The raid is part of a “national security investigation in search of classified records,” a person familiar with the matter told NBC News. The probe is eyeing multiple instances of the use of classified documents in leaks to news media. NBC reported that the investigation into Bolton began during the Biden administration, but did not go further before President Joe Biden left office in January. An FBI official said, “The FBI is conducting court authorized activity in the area. There is no threat to public safety,” but declined to comment on Bolton, according to NBC. That statement indicates a judge signed a search warrant for Bolton’s residence.

FBI agents walk outside the house of John Bolton, Donald Trump’s former national security advisor after the FBI conducted a court-authorized search at his place on August 22, 2025 in Bethesda, Maryland. Pedro Ugarte | AFP | Getty Images

FBI Director Kash Patel tweeted “NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission” at around 7 a.m. ET, the same time his agents reportedly arrived at Bolton’s home in Bethesda, near Washington, D.C. Attorney General Pam Bondi retweeted Patel’s tweet, writing, “America’s safety isn’t negotiable. Justice will be pursued. Always.” And Patel’s deputy director at the FBI, Dan Bongino, in his own post on X wrote, “Public corruption will not be tolerated.” The New York Post first reported the raid. Patel ordered the investigation into Bolton, according to the Post, which cited a Trump administration official. Trump lashed out against Bolton on Aug. 13 after his former advisor criticized the president for agreeing to host a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss how to end Russia’s war against Ukraine. “Very unfair media is at work on my meeting with Putin. 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,’ ” Trump wrote on Truth Social that day. “What’s that all about? We are winning on EVERYTHING.” On Aug. 17, after he met with Putin, Trump wrote, “This war can be ended, NOW, but stupid people like [Sen.] Chris Murphy, John Bolton, and others, make it much harder to do so.” Trump cancelled Bolton’s protective detail from the U.S. Secret Service after he was sworn in for his second term in the White House in January. Bolton had been under Secret Service protection because of plots by Iran to kill him.

Montgomery County police officers stand guard outside the house of John Bolton, Donald Trump’s former national security advisor after FBI agents conducted a court-authorized search at his place on August 22, 2025 in Bethesda, Maryland. Pedro Ugarte | AFP | Getty Images