Just over the last week or so, Donald Trump breathed new life into his yearslong offensive against John Bolton, the president’s former White House national security adviser. Nine days ago, for example, he published an online item in which he condemned Bolton as a “fired loser” and a “really dumb” person. Earlier this week, the president added that Bolton is “stupid” and standing in the way of the peace process in Ukraine.
But Trump’s campaign isn’t limited to juvenile name-calling and online insults. In January, he canceled Bolton’s Secret Service protection detail, which Joe Biden had approved after the FBI discovered evidence of an Iranian assassination plot. Around the same time, the Republican also revoked Bolton’s security clearance.
The escalation has now reached new heights. NBC News reported:
The FBI raided former national security adviser John Bolton’s home in Bethesda, Maryland, on Friday as part of a ‘national security investigation in search of classified records,’ a source familiar with the matter confirmed to NBC News. … In a post on X early Friday, FBI Director Kash Patel wrote, ‘NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission.’
Soon after the public learned of the search at Bolton’s home, the FBI confirmed to MSNBC that the bureau also conducted “court- authorized activity” at a location in Washington, D.C., which is believed to be Bolton’s office.
To put it mildly, Trump and Bolton have not been on good terms following his tenure in the White House. After serving at the president’s side for a year and a half, Bolton warned the public, among other things, that Trump is “unfit to be president.” Trump has responded to the condemnations with an endless stream of insults and complaints about his former aide.
What’s more, before Bolton’s book was released in 2020, Team Trump’s lawyers went to court in the hopes of derailing its publication. That effort failed and the book became a bestseller.
Three months later, Trump’s Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into whether Bolton disclosed classified information when he published his memoir. A former career official with the National Security Council later said in a court filing that Team Trump opened the criminal investigation into Bolton based on false pretenses.
It was around this time that Trump published an item to social media that read in part, “Bolton broke the law. … He likes dropping bombs on people, and killing them. Now he will have bombs dropped on him!”
Five years later, there’s an entirely new dimension to the larger offensive. To be sure, there have been no public disclosures about the nature of the new allegations, and I have no idea whether or not Bolton improperly stored classified records in his home. That said, at face value, it’s nothing short of extraordinary to see the FBI, led by a hyperpartisan Trump loyalist, search the home of a prominent presidential critic — suspecting him of the same wrongdoing that led to one of Trump’s criminal indictments. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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