The FBI's raid on former national security adviser John Bolton's home in suburban Maryland on Friday morning followed his mounting criticism of President Donald Trump's handling of negotiations on Russia's war with Ukraine, leading several observers to warn that the raid displayed the president's desire for "retribution" against his perceived political enemies.
CNN White House correspondent Alayna Treene reported the FBI's "court-authorized" search of Bolton's home in Bethesda stemmed from the U.S. Department of Justice's "now-resumed investigation into whether he disclosed classified information in his 2020 book," which recounted his time serving as Trump's national security adviser during his first term.
A senior federal law enforcement official also told The New York Times that authorities are investigating allegations that Bolton—a right-wing hawk reviled by human rights defenders for his history of war-mongering both inside and outside of government positions under Republicans administrations, including Trump's—leaked national security information to the media to damage Trump over the past few years, as well as accusations regarding Bolton's book.
Trump and Bolton clashed over foreign policy during the president's first term, with Trump denouncing the former George W. Bush administration official—a key propagandist in the lead-up to the Iraq War and an advocate for violent regime change in numerous countries—as "a hawk" who pushed incessantly for military action against Iran.
In June, Trump bombed three nuclear sites in Iran.
Bolton's push for military action against countries including Venezuela and Iraq, his support for Israel's violent apartheid policies, and his boasting of having "helped plan coups d'etat" in other countries have led anti-war groups and progressive critics to accuse the former national security official of war crimes. Many observers on Friday noted that their alarm over the FBI raid was unrelated to their views on Bolton himself.
"The rule of law is under attack," said constitutional law professor Anthony Michael Kreis of Georgia State University. "We have to zealously defend anyone—even ideologically despised folks—from arbitrary government [attacks]."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) added that while he has "nothing in common politically" with Bolton, the raid appeared to be "just another step in Trump's march toward authoritarianism."
"Last time I heard, in America, people are allowed to criticize the President of the United States without the FBI showing up on their doorstep," said the senator.
The raid was reportedly ordered by FBI Director Kash Patel, who accused Bolton of being a member of "the Executive Branch Deep State" in a book he wrote in 2023.
Pate posted a public message on X Friday morning saying his agency was "on [a] mission," just as news broke about the FBI raid.
"NO ONE is above the law," he added.
The post exemplified how Patel has "shattered norms intended to minimize public comment suggesting animus toward subjects under investigation," reported the Times.
In recent days, Bolton has accused Trump of failing to impose the "severe consequences" he threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin with if he continued attacking Ukraine, and said Putin "clearly won" the negotiations he had with Trump last week—coming away from them without facing sanctions or requirements for a ceasefire.
Democratic political strategist Mike Nellis said that while he has "no love for John Bolton... the FBI is raiding him for criticizing Trump’s foreign policy."
"The government's being weaponized to silence opposition," said Nellis, "and it's only going to get worse."
In an appearence on CNN, U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) suggested the raid was strategically timed to turn the public's attention away from files regarding the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which were sent to the House Oversight Committee on Friday under a subpoena. Trump was a known associate of Epstein. As Bloomberg News reported earlier this month, FBI officials redacted Trump's name and the names of other prominent public figures in files regarding Epstein.
"There's a tremendous clamor for these documents and transparency as to these files," said Krishnamoorthi, "and as you know both Donald Trump and Mike Johnson, the speaker of the House, are trying to prevent that from happening, and they want to change the conversation."
