What the FBI search of Bolton’s office actually revealed: court filing

Following a search of former national security adviser John Bolton’s downtown Washington office last month, a court filing released Tuesday shows that the FBI found classified documents, Politico reports.

According to the filing, the August 22 search found "materials" that "referenced weapons of mass destruction, the U.S. mission to the United Nations and records related to the U.S. government’s strategic communications."

There were also "several collections or folders that were labeled 'confidential' and some pages marked 'secret,'" Politico notes.

FBI agents also searched Bolton's Maryland home where they seized a white binder labeled “statements and reflections to Allied Strikes” and four folders specifically marked “Trump I–IV."

Both search warrants, Politico explains, "indicated FBI agents were seeking evidence related to three felony offenses, including gathering, transmitting or losing national defense information in violation of the Espionage Act and retaining classified information without permission."

President Donald Trump, who was charged with stashing classified documents at his Palm Beach country club when he left office in 2021, has targeted Bolton, whom he called a "warmonger," for his vocal criticism of his presidency.

"I read this and asked, “how could he be this dumb.” And then I remembered . . . other than tepidly standing up to Donald Trump (after being fired) John Bolton is a rightwing war criminal who has always been terrible and wrong about almost everything," quipped Florida Democrat Matt Harringer on X.