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PRESIDENT Donald Trump blasted John Bolton as he broke his silence following the raid on the former national security adviser’s home.
On Friday, federal agents descended on Bolton’s property in Maryland, subsequently conducting a search of his Washington DC office as part of an investigation into classified documents.
Bolton, 76, served in Trump’s first administration between 2018 and 2019 and he has been an arch critic of Trump since he left the White House.
The raid happened at Bolton’s Bethesda, Maryland, property at 7:12 am while Bolton was home, the New York Post reported.
Footage revealed FBI agents and local police surrounding the suburban home, with at least six cars filling the driveway. Officers were observed entering and leaving the residence with boxes in hand.
FBI agents were also seen entering a building in Washington DC where Bolton keeps an office.
Trump said he didn’t know anything about the raid as he responded to reporters’ questions hours later.
“I saw it on television this morning,” he said.
Trump then described Bolton as a “low life,” revealing he’s not a fan of him.
He then slammed Bolton over the George W. Bush administration’s policies toward the Middle East.
“He wants to always kill people,” Trump said.
“No one is above the law…” FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X. “@FBI agents on a mission.”
Bolton has not been arrested or taken into custody.
The home and office raids are related to an investigation over Bolton’s handling of classified information.
Around 30 minutes after the raid, a post was uploaded to Bolton’s X account.
It warned about Vladimir Putin’s imperialistic goals when it comes to Ukraine.
“Russia has not changed its goal: drag Ukraine into a new Russian Empire,” the post said.
“Moscow has insisted that Ukraine surrender territories it currently holds along with the rest of Donetsk, a region it has yet to capture. However, Zelensky is steadfast in his refusal to comply.
“Meanwhile, meetings will continue because Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize, but I don’t see these talks making any progress.”
Bolton was previously accused of including classified information in his 2020 book The Room Where It Happened.
Trump tried to sue Bolton before the book hit the shelves over claims that a non-disclosure agreement was breached.
The raids are tied to further allegations that Bolton disclosed sensitive national security details in an attempt to undermine Trump following the book’s release, according to a law enforcement source as reported by The New York Times.
BOLTON’S POLITICAL CAREER
John Bolton’s career spans more than 40 years, having served under four Republican presidents.
During the Reagan administration, he served as Assistant Administrator of USAID for Program and Policy Coordination, and worked in the Office for Legislative Affairs.
Bolton served as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs between May 1989 and January 1993 under George H.W. Bush.
He was US Ambassador to the United Nations under George W. Bush, serving between August 2005 and December 2006.
Almost 12 years later, Bolton was named National Security Advisor under Trump.
He was Trump’s third national security adviser in his first term.
But, the pair clashed on topics such as Iran, Afghanistan and North Korea.
Prior to Bolton’s departure from the White House, he and Trump were at odds over whether the president should invite Taliban leaders to Camp David, a Maryland retreat located roughly 60 miles from Washington DC.
Trump announced he had asked Bolton to leave his Administration in a post on X.
But, Bolton said he had written a resignation letter.
“Thank you for having afforded me this opportunity to serve our country,” he told Trump.
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.
CAMPAIGN AGAINST TRUMP
There is no love lost between Bolton and Trump.
Bolton refused to endorse Trump in his 2020 re-election bid. He also refused to endorse Trump’s rival, Joe Biden.
In 2022, Bolton seemed to suggest he would declare his candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
It was part of a bid to stop Trump from winning the party’s nomination.
Weeks before the election, Bolton told CNN he would cast a protest vote.
He was planning to write Dick Cheney’s name on the ballot, but then he endorsed Kamala Harris.
“It’s caused me to reassess whether to vote for Dick,” he admitted.
“I’m looking to vote for a conservative Republican, and I certainly think Dick is a conservative Republican.
“If he were to win, you know, not much chance of that, I suppose, I don’t think he’d put Kamala Harris in his cabinet,” he said about Cheney endorsing Harris.
SECURITY DETAILS CANCELED
Trump canceled Bolton’s security details after he returned to the presidency in January.
More than 40 ex-intelligence officials had their clearances revoked by Trump.
Trump slammed Bolton when he explained why he removed the security privileges.
“I thought he was 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,” Trump said.
Meanwhile, Bolton told The Hill he was disappointed by Trump’s decision, but said he wasn’t surprised.
In recent days, Bolton has criticized Trump over the president’s talks with Putin.
He claimed Putin “won” following the high-stakes summit in Anchorage, Alaska.
Raids on US officials
FORMER national security adviser John Bolton had his Maryland home raided by FBI agents as part of a classified document-related investigation. Bolton is not the only US official who has been subject to such raids. The U.S. Sun takes a look at other politicians and officials who have suffered the same fate.
Joe Biden
FBI agents searched Joe Biden’s Delaware property in January 2023.
Investigators found documents with classified markings on them, as well as Biden’s handwritten notes.
Papers were found in his garage alongside his 1960s sports car.
The raid on his home was carried out just days after officials found suspected classified documents at the Penn Biden Center in Washington.
Biden had an office in the building after leaving the White House in 2017.
The documents in the Penn Biden Center were first discovered in November 2022 and were handed over by lawyers representing the president.
This prompted FBI agents to investigate whether any laws were broken or if the files were mishandled.
Donald Trump
In August 2022, Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida was raided.
The raid was part of a probe over whether Trump took classified documents from the White House when he left office.
A total of 33 boxes were taken from the private club.
In one box, there were 69 US Government documents or photographs without classification markings.
Investigators recovered two federal government documents with confidential markings.
And, there were 15 documents that had the word “Secret” emblazoned on the front.
That particular box was found in an office inside the building.
Files were found in boxes that were stashed away with clothes, magazines, and other items.
A total of 25 top secret documents were found, as well as 67 confidential, and 92 secret files.
In September 2024, Melania Trump ripped the FBI for raiding her son Barron’s room.
She called the raid an “invasion of privacy.”
Mike Pence
In January 2023, FBI agents found around 12 classified documents in Mike Pence’s Indiana home.
The files were found by a lawyer for the former vice president.
Greg Jacob, a representative for Pence, explained the former vice president was unaware that the files were stashed away in his home.
The documents were found after Biden’s home was raided.
They were put inside a safe after being discovered before being transported to Washington.
The documents were found just months after Pence said he did not take any classified files from the White House.
“Well, there’d be no reason to have classified documents, particularly if they were in an unprotected area,” he told ABC News journalist David Muir.
