FBI agents carry bags and boxes out of former national security adviser John Bolton’s house Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Bethesda, Md. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Judge releases redacted document used to justify search of John Bolton’s home
A judge on Friday released a heavily redacted document used to justify a recent search of the home of John Bolton, who was national security adviser during the first Trump administration, saying that revealing more could harm a criminal investigation.
FBI agents carry bags and boxes out of former national security adviser John Bolton’s house Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Bethesda, Md. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
A judge on Friday released a heavily redacted document used to justify a recent search of the home of John Bolton, who was national security adviser during the first Trump administration, saying that revealing more could harm a criminal investigation.
The FBI’s search warrant affidavit said there was probable cause to believe classified information and national defense information were being illegally kept at Bolton’s Maryland home. Bolton has not been charged with a crime.
A coalition of news organizations had urged a judge in Maryland to unseal records related to the Aug. 22 search, citing a 鈥渢remendous public interest鈥 that outweighed the need for continued secrecy. U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy Sullivan, however, said limits were necessary.
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鈥淭he investigation involves matters of national security and highly classified materials to which the public has no right of access,鈥 Sullivan said.
More than a dozen pages in the affidavit have partial or full redactions. The FBI seized and typed documents.
Bolton served for 17 months as national security adviser during President Donald Trump鈥檚 first term, clashing with him over Iran, Afghanistan and North Korea . He has subsequently criticized Trump鈥檚 approach to foreign policy and government, including in a 2020 book, 鈥淭he Room Where it Happened,鈥 that portrayed the president as ill-informed.
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 鈥渟ignificant amounts鈥 of classified information, some at top secret level.
When Bolton left government, 鈥渉e stated that he did not have any notes or other records from his government service,鈥 Ellen Knight, senior director for NSC records, told Bolton’s lawyer in another letter, according to the FBI affidavit.
There’s a line elsewhere in the affidavit titled, 鈥淗ack of Bolton AOL Account by Foreign Entity,” followed by multiple pages of redactions and no other details.
Bolton’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, has said Bolton had ordinary records reflecting a 40-year career in government and said the Justice Department was 鈥渦nder pressure to satisfy a president out for political revenge.鈥
