In case you needed more evidence that Trump is pretty, vindictive, and crooked.
Search warrant records show that prosecutors are seeking to build a case under statutes barring unauthorized removal of classified documents and Espionage Act violations.
FBI agents seized computers, phones and reams of documents — including some in folders labeled “Trump I-IV” and “statements and reflections to allied strikes” — in the search of the home and office of former national security adviser John Bolton, according to court papers unsealed Thursday.
Search warrant records released by a federal magistrate judge in Maryland confirmed prosecutors are seeking to build a case against Bolton for alleged unauthorized removal of classified documents and violations of the Espionage Act involving improper transmission of national defense information. The most serious of those crimes carries potential punishment of up to a decade in prison.
The warrants, signed a day before the Aug. 22 raids on Bolton’s home in Bethesda, Maryland, and his D.C. office, authorized agents to seize any documents that appeared “to be classified” or “relate to his former position as national security adviser” in 2018 and 2019 during President Donald Trump’s first term.
The records do not say whether agents found any items bearing classification stamps or other markings indicating that they were improperly in Bolton’s possession. They also do not say whether investigators found any such material on the two phones, three computers and two USB thumb drives that were seized.
“Law enforcement is actively reviewing evidence and interviewing witnesses,” prosecutors said in filings surrounding the warrant material’s release, which came in response to a request in court by a coalition of media organizations including The Washington Post.
Prosecutors said in those filings that they would also agree to unseal a redacted version of the affidavit agents drafted to secure the Bolton search warrants. Such documents typically contain a more detailed accounting of the allegations under investigation.
But as of late Thursday, the government had not filed formal paperwork with the court to unseal that document.
Bolton, a veteran diplomat and security expert who has more recently emerged as one of the president’s fiercest critics, has not spoken publicly about the investigation. His attorney, Abbe Lowell, characterized the probe as one driven by a politicized Justice Department “under pressure to satisfy a president out for political revenge.”
“The materials taken from Amb. Bolton’s home are the ordinary records of a 40-year career serving this country,” Lowell said in a statement Thursday. “Any thorough review will show nothing inappropriate was stored or kept by Amb. Bolton.”
Law enforcement officials familiar with the probe previously told The Post that the Justice Department is investigating recent accusations that Bolton leaked sensitive material — making him the latest of Trump’s political enemies to find themselves targeted by federal investigators. In recent months, prosecutors have launched criminal inquiries into Trump critics including Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California), former FBI director James B. Comey, ex-CIA director John Brennan and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
During Trump’s first term, the Justice Department also pursued an investigation of Bolton for allegedly divulging classified government material in his 2020 book, “The Room Where it Happened,” which offered a withering portrait of Trump as an “erratic” and “stunningly uninformed” leader.
That inquiry did not result in charges at the time. But the officials who described the current probe of Bolton’s activities said its scope included both concerns over Bolton’s book and newer allegations involving disclosures of sensitive material.
According to the records unsealed Thursday, the new investigation is being conducted by prosecutors under Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland, as well as lawyers in the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
Vice President JD Vance acknowledged the investigation last month in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” and denied that Bolton is being targeted because of his criticism of Trump.
“We don’t think that we should throw people — even if they disagree with us politically, maybe especially if they disagree with us politically … in prison,” he said. “You should let the law drive these determinations, and that’s what we’re doing.”
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