The federal investigation into John Bolton, President Donald Trump‘s former national security adviser, gained new momentum during the Biden administration after U.S. intelligence collected evidence suggesting he mishandled classified material, according to a report in The New York Times.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the Times said U.S. agencies obtained information from a foreign adversary’s spy service, including emails that Bolton appeared to have sent on an unclassified system while in the Trump White House. The messages, reportedly containing sensitive material from classified documents, were allegedly sent to people close to Bolton who were helping him prepare his 2020 memoir, The Room Where It Happened.
Newsweek has reached out to Bolton through his PAC, along with the Justice Department, via email on Wednesday night for comment.
Why It Matters
The revelations explain why FBI agents executed searches of Bolton’s Maryland home and Washington office last week — a dramatic escalation in an inquiry that had long been viewed as dormant.
Prosecutors sought the warrants to determine if Bolton, a vocal Trump critic, possessed evidence corroborating the foreign spy service’s cache, the Times reported. While no charges are pending, the Times said the FBI searches were aimed at verifying whether Bolton still holds documents matching the intercepted material, which would bolster the case.
What To Know
The investigation began years earlier under Trump, when the administration sought to delay publication of Bolton’s book and accused him of disclosing classified information. A judge later said Bolton may have revealed sensitive material but did not block the release. The criminal probe appeared to languish until U.S. intelligence intercepted Bolton’s alleged emails years later, during Biden’s presidency, the Times said.
The intercepted material, which has not been made public, reportedly included classified information Bolton did not ultimately use in his book.
Federal judges approved the FBI’s recent searches, which required prosecutors to demonstrate probable cause that Bolton had evidence of mishandling classified information. The warrants have reignited debate over whether Trump is pressuring the Justice Department to target critics.
It remains unclear which foreign government intercepted Bolton’s emails, though the Times noted that Iran, Russia, and China all had strong motives to monitor his communications during his time as national security adviser. Bolton played a key role in the Trump administration’s decision to kill a top Iranian general, leaving him under threat of retaliation. Trump ended Bolton’s U.S. security detail the day after taking the oath for his second term.
Amid this first year of Trump’s second term, CIA Director John Ratcliffe briefed FBI Director Kash Patel on the intelligence, according to the Times report. Officials believed the unclassified emails transcribed information from classified material, triggering the new phase of the investigation.
What People Are Saying
President Trump said last week, “I’m not a fan of John Bolton. He’s really sort of a lowlife. He is not a smart guy. But he could be a very unpatriotic guy. We’re going to find out.”
In a commentary published on Monday in the Washington Examiner, Bolton referred to the raid in passing: “President Donald Trump’s Ukraine policy is no more coherent today than it was last Friday when his administration executed search warrants against my home and office. Collapsing in confusion, haste, and the absence of any discernible meeting of the minds among Ukraine, Russia, several European countries, and America, Trump’s negotiations may be in their last throes, along with his Nobel Peace Prize campaign.”
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials reacted after feds raided Bolton’s home: “NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission,” FBI Director Kash Patel posted to X on Friday. Deputy Director Dan Bongino reposted Patel’s comments alongside the caption: “Public corruption will not be tolerated.”
What Happens Next
The Times said Bolton has retained discussions with Abbe Lowell, the high-profile defense attorney who has represented Jared Kushner and Hunter Biden, as well as other Trump adversaries currently under scrutiny, including New York Attorney General Letitia James and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
Update: 8/27/25, 7:32 p.m. ET: This article was updated with new information and remarks.
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