SHOCKING footage has captured federal agents storming the home of former National Security Advisor John Bolton as part of a high-profile probe.
The FBI swarmed the Maryland property in a reported search for classified documents on Friday morning.
At 76, John Bolton served in the first Trump administration from 2018 to 2019, but clashed with the president over foreign policy views, leading to his dismissal.
The Republican sparked controversy with his 2020 book The Room Where It Happened, which Trump criticized as a threat to national security.
Recently, brightly dressed FBI agents raided the former advisor’s Bethesda, Maryland home, searching for documents that may have been improperly stored, as reported by Fox News.
The feds showed up at 7 am, and Bolton was reportedly in the home when they arrived. Later, they went to his office in Washington DC.
Bolton was seen returning to his home at around 2:30 pm and was permitted to enter the residence.
When asked about the raid, Trump told reporters that he didn’t know anything and had just seen the news that morning.
“I’m not a fan of John Bolton. He’s really kind of a lowlife,” remarked Trump, donned in a “Trump Was Right About Everything” cap, later in the day.
“He was one of the people who forced Bush to do the ridiculous bombings in the Middle East.
“He wants to always kill people.”
Trump said that he would likely be briefed on the situation later that day.
Bolton is under investigation for allegedly leaking sensitive national security details to the press to undermine Trump’s image, according to a senior federal law enforcement source quoted by the New York Times.
Investigators are looking into his actions over the last four years, and not just the claims that were published in his book, the official said.
EERIE WARNING
Anticipation was stirred by cryptic posts from Trump’s cabinet prior to the raid. FBI Director Kash Patel tweeted, “NO ONE is above the law … @FBI agents on mission,” although he did not directly reference Bolton.
Meanwhile, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino reshared the post with the comment, “Public corruption will not be tolerated.”
And Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X, “America’s safety isn’t negotiable. Justice will be pursued. Always.”
Bolton has been in Trump’s sightline since a judge permitted the memoir to be published, despite the president’s Justice Department trying to block it.
John Bolton’s campaign against Trump
JOHN Bolton served in Donald Trump’s first White House administration between 2018 and 2019. But, the pair clashed during his stint as National Security Advisor.
Trump and Bolton clashed on a range of foreign policy issues, ranging from Afghanistan to Russia and Iran.
Russia
In 2018, Bolton joined Trump on a trip to Helsinki, Finland, for a summit with Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
Trump and Putin hosted a joint-press conference and Trump was probed over allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election.
But, Trump seemed to accept Putin’s claims, rather than what US intelligence forces had found.
Afghanistan
On the issue of Afghanistan, Bolton was skeptical toward Trump’s approach of negotiating a peace deal with Taliban chiefs.
The two had a bust-up over Trump’s plan to host the Taliban at the presidential retreat of Camp David.
Iran
While in the White House, Bolton was hawkish toward Iran.
He campaigned for more military action against Tehran.
But, the two agreed that the US should withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Post-White House
Bolton departed the White House in September 2019 and he wrote a resignation letter to Trump.
But, Trump claimed he had told Bolton his services were no longer required.
There has been no love lost between Bolton and Trump.
Trump has hurled insults at Bolton, describing him as “dumb.”
In 2020, the former White House official revealed he wouldn’t be voting for Trump or Joe Biden in that year’s election.
In 2022, he even suggested throwing his name into the hat for the 2024 Republican nomination as part of a campaign to stop Trump.
Bolton refused to endorse Trump for the 2024 presidential election.
He speculated that he would write Dick Cheney, the former vice president, as a protest vote.
But, he appeared to change his mind after Cheney endorsed Kamala Harris.
After returning to the White House, Trump revoked Bolton’s security clearances.
Bolton was one of more than 40 officials who had their security clearances revoked.
Bolton said he was disappointed, but not surprised by Trump’s decision.
In the book, Bolton accused his former boss of intervening with law enforcement and having an unfair influence on federal agencies.
He also made damning claims about Trump’s relationship with foreign officials, saying at one point that Trump begged China’s President Xi Jinping to support his second bid for the presidency.
Trump’s first administration opened a probe into Bolton at the end of his term, but Joe Biden’s administration stopped investigating when the Republican was ousted.
Some senior government officials felt that the dropped investigation was politically motivated, according to Fox News.
TENSIONS MOUNT
When Trump was reelected, he started the probe back up with a fresh motivation to target politicians who, he feels, hindered progress in his first term.
One of his first moves after returning to office was to strip Bolton of federal protections stemming from the former advisor’s fraught relationship with Iran.
In recent days, Bolton has been outspoken with his criticism of how Trump is handling the war between Russia and Ukraine.
On Friday morning, about 30 minutes after federal agents stormed his home, Bolton wrote on X, “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.”
When Trump explained why he removed Bolton’s security privilege, he described his former advisor as a “very dumb person.”
“But I used him well because every time people saw me come into a meeting with John Bolton standing behind me, they thought that he’d attack them because he was a warmonger,” he said.
BOLTON’S HISTORY
Bolton has served under four Republican presidents. In the Reagan Administration, he worked as Assistant Administrator of USAID for Program and Policy Coordination, and in the Office for Legislative Affairs..
He went on to serve as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs between May 1989 and January 1993, when George H.W. Bush was in office.
From August 2005 to December 2006, he served as US Ambassador to the United Nations under George W. Bush.
While working for Trump, Bolton clashed with the president over relations with Iran, Afghanistan, and North Korea.
They argued over whether Trump should host Taliban leaders at Camp David, a presidential retreat in Maryland, in some of Bolton’s final days.
After being dismissed, Bolton said that he was disappointed to leave the administration, but not surprised that it didn’t work out.
POLITICAL TURN
In 2022, Bolton suggested that he would declare his candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination to squash Trump’s chances.
Weeks before the nomination, he said that he would cast a protest vote for Dick Cheney, who served as George W. Bush’s vice president for two terms
When Cheney announced that he would be voting for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, Bolton even considered switching to the other side of the aisle.
However, he ultimately said, “I am not going to vote for either Harris or Trump,” in an interview with CNN.
“Neither one are qualified to be president.”
