Who is John Bolton and What Did He Do? FBI Raids Maryland Home of Ex-National Security Advisor

On Friday morning, John Bolton's Maryland home was raided by FBI agents. Bolton was the former national security advisor for President Donald Trump who has since criticised his run. As per NBC, the raid was part of a 'national security investigation in search of classified records'.

John Bolton's Connection to Trump

John Robert Bolton is an American attorney, diplomat and political consultant born on 20 November 1948. He's also known for his work as a political commentator and his time as US ambassador to the United Nations from 2005-2006.

In addition, he served as Trump's national security advisor during his first tenure as US President. Trump would fire him on 10 September 2019, leaving the pair at odds ever since.

That day, Trump posted a tweet, which stated 'I disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions, as did others in the Administration', pertaining to his firing.

Previously, Trump has threatened to jail him over his book, The Room Where It Happened, which was published in 2020. The memoir explored Bolton's criticisms of Trump's knowledge on foreign policies.

This translated into the US Justice Department suing Bolton in 2020 to block his book's publication and sale. This was filed during Trump's last year of his first term.

A Justice Department lawyer told a judge that the book was a 'flagrant breach' of Bolton's agreement to refrain from writing about classified matters. However, this probe was closed under succeeding US President Joe Biden.

After Trump was sworn in for his second term last January, he removed Bolton's protective detail from the US Secret Service. Bolton had been under their protection due to plots of Iran to kill him.

Recently, Trump also lashed out against Bolton on 13 August. This comes from his former advisor criticising his agreement to host a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid discussions to end Russia's war on Ukraine.

About the Raid

The probe, first reported by the New York Post, eyed multiple instances of the use of classified documents in leaks to news media. As mentioned, this initially began during Biden's presidential run, but hasn't gone further before he left the office in January.

Bolton wasn't confirmed to be home during the raid, which began at 7:00 a.m. ET. A woman appearing to be Bolton's wife was at the residence during the incident.

An FBI official mentioned that they were conducting a court authorised activity in the area. He also added that there is no threat to public safety.

The statement indicated that a judge signed a search warrant for his residence in Bethesda. Moreover, agents also raided Bolton's Washington-based office.

Later, Trump told reporters that he wasn't aware about the raid, but that he is expecting to get briefed about it later. It was revealed by the Post that FBI Director Kash Patel ordered the investigation into Bolton.

As per an X post, Patel posted that 'NO ONE is above the law'. This took place around the same time his agents stormed Bolton's residence.

Half an hour into the raid, Bolton would post about the war between Russia and Ukraine. He wrote that Trump will continue pushing for meetings on the conflict because he wants a Nobel Peace Prize.