Overview

• Federal agents executed court-authorized searches at Bolton’s Bethesda home and his Washington, D.C., office on August 22.
• A federal magistrate signed the warrant after finding probable cause that evidence of a crime would be found at those locations.
• The Justice Department has not released the affidavit or stated the specific investigative targets, though coverage centers on Bolton’s 2020 memoir and prepublication review disputes.
• In related background, a civil judge previously found Bolton probably disclosed classified information, and a separate criminal review was closed in June 2021.
• Analysts outline possible outcomes from disgorgement of book proceeds to potential Espionage Act charges, while noting that no charges have been filed.