FBI agents raided the DC-area home of President Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton on Friday morning in a high-profile national security probe, The Post can exclusively reveal.
Federal agents went to Bolton’s house in Bethesda, Md., from 7 a.m. in an investigation ordered by FBI Director Kash Patel, a Trump administration official told The Post.
“NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission,” he said in a cryptic post to X shortly after the raid began.
Vehicles outside of John Bolton’s home on Aug. 22. REUTERS
A person wearing a “Trump is a national disgrace” shirt stands outside Bolton’s home. REUTERS
The probe — which is said to involve classified documents — was first launched years ago, but the Biden administration shut it down “for political reasons,” according to a senior US official.
Bolton’s X account blasted out a message at 7:32 a.m. criticizing Trump’s approach to Russia’s war on Ukraine as FBI agents were inside his home. It was unclear whether it was a scheduled post.
John Bolton in the Oval Office with Trump on May 22, 2018. AP
“Russia has not changed its goal: drag Ukraine into a new Russian Empire. Moscow has demanded that Ukraine cede territory it already holds and the remainder of Donetsk, which it has been unable to conquer. Zelensky will never do so. Meanwhile, meetings will continue because Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize, but I don’t see these talks making any progress.
Bolton has previously been accused of including classified information in his 2020 book, “The Room Where It Happened.”
FBI Director Kash Patel cryptically posted on X shortly after the raid on John Bolton’s home on Friday, August 22, 2025. REUTERS
Kash Patel’s ominous tweet on Friday, August 22, 2025. @FBIDirectorKash/X
President Trump fought to quash its publication over its inclusion of national secrets — saying Bolton broke an NDA signed as a condition of his employment — but was ultimately unsuccessful.
His first-term Justice Department opened an inquiry into the book in September 2020.
FBI agents are seen raiding John Bolton’s home in Maryland on Friday, August 22, 2025. Fox News
FBI agents raided John Bolton’s home in Bethesda, Maryland, on Friday, August 22, 2025. Google Maps
The ex-Trump adviser has been at odds with his old boss since, regularly appearing on cable news criticizing the president’s national security and foreign policy.
Start your day with all you need to know
Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.
Thanks for signing up!
It comes a day after Patel revealed former FBI Director James Comey had authorized leaks of classified documents “while misleading Congress” just before the 2016 elections.
Patel has pledged to rid the federal government of corruption and expose cover-ups.