Sadiq S BhatWashington, DC — John Bolton, once at the centre of Donald Trump's White House and now one of his loudest detractors, is under federal investigation for possible mishandling of classified material.
Court filings unsealed on Thursday reveal that FBI agents searched his Maryland home in late August, walking away with folders, binders and devices tied to his time in office.
The warrant application listed two criminal statutes, including the Espionage Act.
That law makes it a crime to hold or pass on national defence secrets without permission.
It is the same statute that federal prosecutors once used against Trump himself, in a case later dismissed.
As per the court filings, the FBI seized two mobile phones, a stack of printed schedules, typed records, and folders marked "Trump I–IV" from Bolton's house.
There was also a binder labelled "Statements and Reflections to Allied Strikes."
A separate search of his Washington office, reported by the Washington Times, produced more electronics and documents.
US Justice Department has confirmed the seizures.
Echoes of past disputes?
Bolton's lawyer Abbe Lowell called the sweep baseless.
"The materials taken from Amb. Bolton's home are the ordinary records of a 40-year career serving this country,” he said.
"Any thorough review will show nothing inappropriate was stored or kept by Amb. Bolton."
No charges so far. But the statutes named in the warrant are heavy ones.
The Espionage Act carries prison terms of five to twenty years. Cases brought under it are rare, but when they land, they land hard.
Jonathan Turley, a constitutional scholar, called them severe by nature.
Politics sits close to the surface. Bolton once carried Trump's confidence, first at the UN, then in the West Wing. The partnership collapsed in 2019 after open clashes over policy.
Since then, Bolton has spoken with a freer tongue.
His memoir, The Room Where It Happened (2020), painted Trump as a figure driven by grievance rather than strategy.
He later stripped it down further, saying flatly that Trump was unfit for office.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration revoked Bolton's security clearance and personal protection.
Weeks later, FBI agents arrived at his door. Lowell accused the Justice Department of bending to political pressure.
The echoes of past disputes are striking. In 2020, a federal judge ruled that Bolton likely disclosed classified information in his memoir, exposing himself to possible civil liability.
The Justice Department eventually dropped its lawsuit against him, but the court's finding left a legal shadow.
Bolton now finds himself facing something more direct. If investigators conclude that he retained classified material unlawfully, he could face indictment under the Espionage Act.
Trump has maintained he did not know about the FBI search of Bolton's house before it took place on August 22.
"He’s not a smart guy, but he could be a very unpatriotic guy," Trump told reporters. "I know nothing about it — I just saw it this morning that they did a raid."
"I tell [Attorney General Pam Bondi], and I tell the group, I don’t want to know, but you have to do what you have to do. I don't want to know about it," Trump said.
Top voices have, meanwhile, pointed to the seriousness of mishandling classified information.
US Vice President JD Vance and House Oversight Chairman James Comer both insist the case has nothing to do with politics. Comer has said the investigation "is about safeguarding national security, not silencing critics."
Files under fire
However, Bolton's prominence raises the stakes. He was no backroom official. He sat in the Situation Room, privy to decisions on Iran, North Korea and Russia.
His notes and records could hold sensitive details. That makes him valuable to investigators, but also a symbol in a political battle that stretches far beyond him.
For prosecutors, that makes him a subject of interest.
The image lingers. Federal agents hauling boxes from the home of a man who once held the highest security clearances in the US.
In an op-ed in Washington Examiner after the raid, Bolton wrote that the Trump administration was trying "to camouflage its disarray."
He drew a parallel between the ordeal and Trump's handling of Ukraine.
"Trump's Ukraine policy is no more coherent today than it was last Friday when his administration executed search warrants against my home and office," Bolton hit back.
