FBI Seizes Classified Documents From Bolton's Office in National Security Probe
Agents collected documents labeled classified, confidential and secret along with phones and computers as part of a review into Bolton's handling of defense records, per unsealed court filings.
Federal agents seized documents labeled "classified," "confidential," and "secret" from the office of former national security adviser John Bolton as part of an investigation into whether Bolton mishandled defense records, according to court filings unsealed on Tuesday.
The seized items labeled confidential appear to concern weapons of mass destruction, national strategic communication, and the U.S. mission to the United Nations, investigators wrote in a catalog of what was collected during the late-August search. The list did not specify when the documents were created.
The FBI also seized phones and computer equipment during the search, and more than a dozen pages in the affidavit were partially or fully redacted.
Bolton's attorney Abbe Lowell said the documents did not indicate any wrongdoing. He noted that many of the materials were decades old and related to Bolton's long career in the State Department, as an assistant attorney general, and as the United Nations ambassador. "An objective and thorough review will show nothing inappropriate was stored or kept by Amb. Bolton," Lowell said.
Bolton served 17 months as national security adviser during Donald Trump’s first term, clashing with the president over Iran, Afghanistan and North Korea before leaving in 2019. He has since criticized Trump’s approach to foreign policy and government, including in a 2020 book, The Room Where It Happened, that portrayed the president as ill-informed on foreign policy.
The search warrant affidavit says a National Security Council official had reviewed the book manuscript and told Bolton in 2020 that it appeared to contain "significant amounts" of classified information, some at a top-secret level.
Bolton is the latest of Trump’s political adversaries to face federal scrutiny. Prosecutors have also launched criminal inquiries into New York Attorney General Letitia James, California Senator Adam Schiff and former FBI director James B. Comey.
The late-August search and the unsealed filings offer a window into the ongoing probe while leaving many details under seal, and authorities have not announced any charges related to Bolton in connection with the matter.