FBI agents conducted court‑authorized searches at former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s Maryland home and Washington office on Friday, reigniting a dormant investigation into alleged mishandling of classified information from his 2020 memoir, The Room Where It Happened.

The raids, approved by a federal magistrate, saw agents remove materials but led to no arrests or charges, according to U.S. media reports.

President Donald Trump denied prior knowledge, telling reporters, “I know nothing about it… I could be the one starting it, and I’m actually the chief law enforcement officer. But I feel it’s better this way.” He dismissed Bolton as a “low life” and “unpatriotic,” while noting his trademark hawkish foreign policy — a stance critics have long branded as warmongering — during their tenure.

The investigation, initially closed by the Biden administration in 2021, was reopened under Trump‑appointed FBI Director Kash Patel, who signaled the raid on X: “NO ONE is above the law… FBI agents on mission.” Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Director Dan Bongino echoed the sentiment, with Bondi vowing, “Justice will be pursued. Always.”

Critics quickly questioned the timing and public theatrics — agents in marked jackets, officials telegraphing the operation — contrasting it with the discreet 2022 Mar‑a‑Lago search in Trump’s own classified documents case.

Analysts note the raid fits into Trump’s broader campaign against perceived enemies, alongside probes into New York Attorney General Letitia James and former Rep. Adam Schiff.

Bolton, a longtime GOP insider turned Trump critic, has faced years of legal battles over his book’s claims that Trump sought foreign election interference. The renewed probe now extends beyond the memoir to examine “other possible leaks as a form of weaponization,” a source told CNN.

While the DOJ insists the search was routine, the spectacle underscores Trump’s accelerated push to reshape federal law enforcement into a tool for political retribution.