FBI raids Trump ex-NSA Bolton days after outburst on India tariff

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided the home of John Bolton, a former White House national security adviser and former US ambassador to the United Nations, early on Friday as part of a high-profile national security probe.

The action comes days after Bolton criticised President Donald Trump for imposing tariffs on India for its purchases of Russian oil, calling it an “unforced error” that may have pushed New Delhi further into the Beijing-Moscow axis. Bolton had also commented on Trump’s claim of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, attributing it to his tendency to “take credit for everything”.

Trump, however, said he had limited knowledge of the FBI searching the home of his former aide but called him a “lowlife”. “I’m not a fan of John Bolton,” he told reporters.

A Trump administration official confirmed that the raid was ordered by FBI Director Kash Patel, who later seemed to confirm the operation with a post on X, saying, “No one is above the law... @FBI agents on mission”.

Reports suggested the FBI agents busted into Bolton’s house in Bethesda, Maryland, at 7 am. The probe centres around Bolton’s handling of classified information, particularly in relation to his 2020 memoir, “The Room Where it Happened”, which Trump had attempted to block due to allegations of revealing national secrets and breaching a non-disclosure agreement signed during his tenure. Despite Trump’s efforts, the book was published. The US Justice Department had opened an inquiry into the book in September 2020.

The former Trump adviser has been regularly appearing on news channels criticising the President’s national security and foreign policy.

In an interview, Bolton had referred to the possible visit by Putin to India later this year and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming China visit, a first since 2018. “Obviously both Moscow and Beijing are going to try to bring India closer to them. I mean, this could have negative consequences (for the US), because it wasn’t well thought through,” Bolton had said.