Overview

• On August 22, FBI agents executed court-authorized searches at John Bolton’s Bethesda home and his Washington, D.C., office, seizing boxes and electronic materials.
• A federal magistrate signed the warrant after finding probable cause that evidence of a crime could be found on the premises.
• The investigation centers on possible mishandling of classified information connected to Bolton’s 2020 book, The Room Where It Happened.
• Bolton was neither detained nor charged following the searches, and the national-security investigation remains ongoing.
• The action reopens a criminal review reportedly halted by the Biden-era DOJ in 2021, as public reaction splits between claims of political retribution from figures such as Adam Schiff and reports citing unnamed FBI sources who say agents uncovered substantial sensitive material.