- BETHESDA, MARYLAND, US — AUG. 22, 2025: FBI agents raided the home of former US National Security Adviser John Bolton early Friday as part of a national security investigation, according to a report by the New York Post.

The search of Bolton’s residence in Bethesda, Maryland – close to Washington, DC – began around 7 am local time and was ordered by FBI Director Kash Patel, a Friday report by the tabloid paper said.

Patel later posted on the US social media company X that “NO ONE is above the law … @FBI agents on mission.”

The investigation is said to involve classified documents and was initially launched several years ago before being shelved under the administration of former President Joe Biden “for political reasons,” the daily reported, citing a senior US official.

Bolton, who served as Trump’s national security adviser from 2018 to 2019 but later criticized his former boss, has previously faced accusations of including sensitive material in his 2020 memoir "The Room Where It Happened."

US President Donald Trump said he had no prior knowledge of early Friday's FBI raid on the home of his former National Security Adviser John Bolton, learning about it from television reports.

“I don’t know about it. I saw it on television this morning,” Trump told reporters on an impromptu visit to The People’s House museum in Washington.

He dismissed Bolton as “a real lowlife” and “not a smart guy,” accusing him of pushing for “ridiculous bombings in the Middle East.”

“When I hired him, he served a good purpose, because, as you know, he was one of the people that forced (former US President George W.) Bush to do the ridiculous bombings in the Middle East. He wants to always kill people,” he said.

“He's a, not a smart guy, but he could be a very unpatriotic I'm all going to find out. I know nothing about it. I just saw it this morning,” he added.