(NewsNation) — The FBI conducted a raid Friday on the home and office of John Bolton, who served as national security adviser in President Donald Trump’s first administration, two sources familiar with the search confirmed to NewsNation.
The search took place at Bolton’s Maryland home, where agents were seen carrying boxes, and was related to classified documents, according to sources. Agents also searched Bolton’s office in Washington, D.C., the sources said.
Bolton was not detained and does not face charges, according to the Associated Press. All FBI searches require court-authorized search warrants.
Bolton is a NewsNation national security contributor.
Trump: ‘My house was raided also’
Trump said he doesn’t want to get involved in the John Bolton investigation, despite being the “chief law enforcement office.”
“I’m not a fan of John Bolton, I thought he was a sleazebag actually. He suffers major Trump derangement syndrome, but so do a lot of people and they are not being affected by anything we do.”
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump reminded reporters his home has been raided before.
“My house was raided also. Called Mar-a-Lago. They went through everything they could including my young son’s room, my wife’s area.” Trump said. “So, I know the feeling, it’s not a good feeling.”
Vance confirms ‘ongoing investigation into John Bolton’
Vice President JD Vance confirmed there is an “ongoing investigation into John Bolton” during an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” Friday.
Vance denied that the investigation was retribution for Bolton’s criticism of President Trump, adding “this is all part of gathering evidence, trying to understand something we are worried about.”
“If there is no crime here, we’re not going to prosecute it. If there is a crime here, of course Ambassador Bolton will get his day in court,” Vance said. “Our focus here is on ‘Did he break the law? Did he commit crimes against the American people?’”
Drivers honking, protesting outside Bolton’s home
NewsNation is outside John Bolton’s Maryland home, where an FBI raid is currently underway.
People have begun driving past the house honking, with one person shouting, “Fascism!” Some are protesting the raid, with another person holding a sign reading, “Trump uses FBI for vengeance.”
Former FBI special agent: ‘FBI is not a political entity’
Stuart Kaplan, an attorney and a former FBI special agent, told NewsNation that agents are required to maintain their “neutrality” during investigations like this.
“The FBI is not a political entity, and we as FBI agents do not hold or have an obligation to respond to media inquiries just because it’s the topic on the front page of the newspaper,” Kaplan said. “These types of very sensitive investigations should remain secret, keep themselves out of the political arena.”
FBI agents seen entering Bolton’s home and DC office
FBI agents were seen entering Bolton’s Washington, D.C., office on Friday morning. The officers carried black bags as they walked through the front and back doors of the building.
Political and media strategist: ‘What is this actually about?’
Kurt Bardella, a political and media strategist, told NewsNation that Americans need to be shown the evidence used to justify the raid in order to determine if it was appropriate.
“It’s nothing short of extraordinary to watch a president and you know, his justice department do this to someone who served in his administration at one point in time,” Bardella said. “Almost like really, with the Epstein files, what are the goods? You know, show us the goods, show the American people what this is actually about.”
FBI director’s post ‘unprecedented’: Former agent
Former FBI agent Phil Andrew told NewsNation that FBI Director Kash Patel’s social media post about the raid was “unprecedented.”
According to Andrew, FBI leaders typically avoid discussing investigations to protect both agents and the integrity of the case. Andrew said Patel’s “cryptic comment” was clouding the investigation.
“It is odd and way out of the FBI’s natural practice for the FBI director to be commenting on this on Twitter as a raid is taking place, and clearly there’s been a lot of politicalization of the FBI by this director and his deputy,” Andrew said.
Trump: John Bolton is ‘a real sort of a lowlife’
President Donald Trump responded to the raid at Bolton’s home, telling reporters Friday he knew nothing about it.
“I just saw it on television this morning. I’m not a fan of John Bolton, he’s a real sort of a lowlife,” Trump said. “When I hired him, he served a good purpose, because, as you know, he was one of the people that forced Bush to do the ridiculous bombings in the Middle East.”
Trump said he expects the Department of Justice to brief him on the raid at some point Friday.
“I tell Pam and I tell the group, ‘I don’t want to know, but just you have to do what you have to do,'” he said.
John Bolton’s security detail revoked by Trump
In January, Bolton announced Trump had revoked his Secret Service protection. Bolton previously had around-the-clock security after the Iranian government reportedly made credible threats to assassinate him after the killing of top Iranian commander Qassim Soleimani during Trump’s first term.
“I am disappointed but not surprised that President Trump has decided to terminate the protection previously provided by the United States Secret Service,” Bolton wrote on social media at the time. “Notwithstanding my criticisms of President Biden’s national-security policies, he nonetheless made the decision to extend that protection to me in 2021.”
Who is John Bolton, former national security adviser?
A former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Bolton worked for Trump from 2018 to 2019. The two parted ways in 2019 over disagreements on foreign policy, with Trump claiming he fired him. Bolton disputed that claim, stating he offered to resign.
In 2020, Bolton released a memoir about his time as an adviser titled, “The Room Where It Happened.”
Officials in Trump’s first administration argued Bolton’s book disclosed classified information, but the Department of Justice dropped both a lawsuit and a grand jury investigation over the book the following year.