Updated August 22, 2025 at 2:55 PM EDT
The FBI on Friday searched the home and office of President Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton.
Bolton served in Trump's first term in the White House for just over a year but has since become a sharp critic of the president. He has said he believed Trump would use the Department of Justice to enact a "retribution presidency."
The FBI on Friday said it conducted "court-authorized activity in the area" when asked about a search at Bolton's Maryland home.
"There is no threat to public safety. We have no further comment," the FBI added. The search of Bolton's home was first reported by the New York Post. Bolton's office declined immediate comment.
The search of Bolton's home as well as his office was tied to his handling of classified documents, two sources familiar with the investigation told NPR. The sources weren't authorized to speak publicly about the details of an ongoing probe.
Bolton was one of the former administration officials whose security clearances Trump stripped when he returned to office. Trump also revoked Bolton's security detail, which was in place because of threats from Iran.
Trump on Friday told reporters that he doesn't want to get involved in the investigation into Bolton, even though "I'm allowed to be; I'm the chief law enforcement officer."
Public corruption will not be tolerated. https://t.co/VNzFdO6oVS
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Bolton published The Room Where It Happened in 2020, a memoir about his time in the White House that was critical of Trump's approach to foreign policy and the presidency in general.
The Trump administration sued to try to block the book's publication, alleging that Bolton hadn't gone through the proper clearance process and that his manuscript contained classified information. A judge declined that request, but said Bolton's conduct raised national security concerns. The Biden administration dismissed the lawsuit, and prosecutors dropped a grand jury investigation the following year.
Trump on Friday compared the search of Bolton's home with the investigation into Trump's own withholding and concealing of classified documents at his home in Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House.
"His house was raided today, but my house was raided also — Mar-a-Lago. They went through everything they could, including my young son's room and my wife's area," he told reporters.
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