FBI agents stormed John Bolton’s Bethesda, Maryland home and office, signaling a renewed hunt for classified leaks tied to his 2020 memoir, as the New York Post reports. The raid on Aug. 22 revives a probe that once fizzled under Biden’s watch. Conservatives smell a deep-state purge finally gaining traction.
Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser from April 2018 to September 2019, published The Room Where It Happened in June 2020, sparking this mess, at least in part. The book, detailing his White House tenure, underwent a rigorous National Security Council review. Yet, suspicions linger that Bolton spilled sensitive secrets, prompting Friday’s dramatic FBI action.
Bolton’s memoir faced intense scrutiny before its release, with the Trump administration claiming he breached a nondisclosure agreement. The Justice Department even sought an emergency court order to halt publication. A federal judge, however, greenlit the book’s June 23, 2020, release, dismissing the White House’s pleas.
The Trump administration’s civil suit against Bolton aimed to delay the book and claw back profits. They argued he endangered national security with unchecked disclosures. Simon & Schuster, Bolton’s publisher, scoffed, calling it a “politically motivated exercise in futility.”
“Politically motivated” or not, the suit flopped, but questions about classified leaks persisted. By September 2020, Bolton was under a federal criminal probe for allegedly spilling sensitive information. That investigation, suspiciously, was shelved in June 2021 after Biden took office.
A senior US official now claims, “The Bolton probe was shut down for political reasons.” How convenient for the Biden crew, who seemed eager to bury Trump-era controversies. The deep state’s selective amnesia never ceases to amaze.
The Justice Department’s push to seize Bolton’s book profits also collapsed. Ellen Knight, a National Archives staffer involved in the NSC review, claimed Trump’s White House pressured her to falsely flag the book as classified. Knight’s refusal cost her a permanent NSC gig -- classic swamp retaliation.
Fast forward to 2025, and the probe has roared back to life, now sniffing beyond Bolton’s book. It’s morphed into a broader investigation of classified leaks stretching into Biden’s administration. The statute of limitations, typically five years for such crimes, keeps the heat on Bolton’s 2020 memoir.
FBI Director Kash Patel, no stranger to calling out the establishment, declared, “NO ONE is above the law… FBI agents on mission.” Patel’s 2023 book Government Gangsters fingers Bolton as part of the “Executive Branch Deep State.” Sounds like Patel’s cleaning house, and Bolton’s in the crosshairs.
Adding fuel to the fire, Trump revoked Bolton’s security clearance and Secret Service detail in January of this year. This, despite Iran’s ongoing threats against Bolton after the 2020 US drone strike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Bolton’s no saint, but leaving him exposed reeks of political score-settling.
Bolton’s own words don’t help his case. He once sneered, “Meetings will continue because Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize.” Such snark, dripping with disdain, paints him as a bitter ex-insider eager to spill tea -- or secrets -- for profit.
President Trump, never one to mince words, fired back: “I thought he was a sleazebag, actually.” Trump’s quip about Bolton’s “Trump Derangement Syndrome” hits home -- Bolton’s memoir reeks of an axe to grind. Yet, the FBI’s raid suggests there’s more than just personal beef at play.
The raid’s timing, years after the book’s release, raises eyebrows. Why now? Perhaps Patel’s pledge to root out executive branch corruption, including the FBI’s 2016 Kremlin-Trump probe, is shaking things loose.
This isn’t just about Bolton anymore -- it’s a signal to the bureaucratic elite. The probe’s expansion into Biden’s era suggests leakers in high places might finally face the music. Conservatives cheer as the swamp drains, one raid at a time.
Bolton’s saga, from memoir to raid, exposes the messy clash between loyalty, security, and ambition. The FBI’s latest move proves no one escapes scrutiny forever -- not even a hawk like Bolton. Stay tuned; this deep-state drama is just heating up.
