The FBI located documents marked as classified during a search of former national security adviser John Bolton’s office in Washington, D.C., according to a court filing released Tuesday.
The search took place on August 22 and was conducted under a warrant authorized by U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya.
According to the inventory filed in federal court, the materials retrieved in the Washington search included references to weapons of mass destruction, the U.S. mission to the United Nations, and records tied to the U.S. government’s strategic communications.
BREAKING: FBI agents found classified documents at the office of former national security adviser John Bolton on DC. The court filing shows the documents included materials about weapons of mass destruction, the U.S. mission to the United Nations, and U.S. strategic… pic.twitter.com/WyFOeQUf0g
— Futurist™ (@americasgreat) September 24, 2025
The filing listed several folders labeled “confidential” and some documents marked “secret.”
The heading on at least one set of “confidential” papers was redacted from the publicly available record.
On the same day, FBI agents executed a second warrant at Bolton’s residence in Bethesda, Maryland.
BREAKING: Federal agents are RIGHT NOW in John Bolton’s home “going through things” following an early morning FBI RAID in the DC area over national security concerns.
Yes. We did, indeed, vote for this.
This is Bolton’s primary residence.
“This deals with classified… pic.twitter.com/PmIOAxTgtA
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 22, 2025
That search did not identify classified documents in the initial inventory.
However, in both searches, agents seized computers and other electronic devices, though details of their contents were not disclosed in the filings.
The warrants were issued as part of an investigation into potential violations of three federal statutes, including provisions of the Espionage Act covering the unauthorized gathering, transmission, or retention of national defense information, as well as laws governing the improper storage of classified material.
The case marks a new turn for Bolton, who has faced prior scrutiny regarding his handling of sensitive government material.
In 2020, following the publication of a book about his time in the Trump administration, federal prosecutors alleged that Bolton included classified information.
A judge publicly warned that the matter could be criminal in nature. The Justice Department, however, later dropped its inquiry in 2021 during the Biden-Harris administration.
Court records now reveal that investigators believe Bolton’s AOL email account was hacked by a foreign entity, though the filings provide no details about the scope of the intrusion or how U.S. officials became aware of it.
The searches come against the backdrop of ongoing debate over the handling of classified documents by senior officials.
President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate was searched by FBI agents in August 2022 as part of an investigation into his possession of government records. Bolton, during media appearances at that time, sharply criticized the President.
In an interview with CNN’s State of the Union in 2022, Bolton said the mishandling of classified documents was “a very serious matter.”
He stated, “It’s not just a question of carelessness. These are highly sensitive documents. The classification system is designed to protect our most important secrets, and if they’re not handled properly, it can do grave damage to national security.”
The following year, Bolton told NBC News that President Trump’s conduct showed “a complete disregard for the rules that govern classified information.”
He added, “I went through a rigorous process to clear my book, and he thinks he can just take these materials to Mar-a-Lago and treat them like personal property? That’s not how it works.”
John Bolton was really enthusiastic about the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago.
“No one is above the law.”
I wonder if he feels the same way about today’s FBI raid on his house. pic.twitter.com/hsBPGzJbak
— Dinesh D’Souza (@DineshDSouza) August 22, 2025
Special counsel Jack Smith ultimately dismissed the classified documents case against President Trump in November 2024 after his reelection.
The current investigation into Bolton, meanwhile, has not yet resulted in charges, and it remains unclear when prosecutors reopened the case or how far the inquiry may extend.
The discovery of classified materials in Bolton’s office highlights the ongoing federal scrutiny over the handling of sensitive government records by current and former officials, an issue that continues to play out in both legal and political arenas.
He can’t have it both ways. He was an appointed official not an elected official, in his case neither were capable of taking and/or retaining classified information.