The FBI searched the home of former White House adviser John Bolton on Friday, according to reports.
The search is related to a national security investigation, Reuters quoted a source as saying. AP reported that the raid is linked to an inquiry into the handling of classified information.
The New York Post, which first reported the story, said the raid came at the behest of FBI director Kash Patel, who wrote in an early morning social media post: “NO ONE is above the law … @FBI agents on mission.” Agents were seen carrying empty boxes as they made their way to the house.
CNN reported that he said he was unaware of the law enforcement activity and was looking into it further.
Mr Bolton served as US President Donald Trump's ambassador to the UN and national security adviser during his first term. He was ultimately fired in a tweet and has since become a vocal critic of Mr Trump.
A video posted by the national security publication Lawfare showed a police car reportedly blocking the road leading to Mr Bolton's house in Bethesda, Maryland, on Monday morning.
Asked about the raid, Mr Trump described Mr Bolton as a "sort of low-life", and said he expected to be briefed on the situation later in the day. “I tell [Attorney General] Pam [Bondi] and I tell the group, I don’t want to know but just you have to do what you have to do ... I could know about it, I could be the one starting it - I’m actually the chief law enforcement officer - but I feel it’s better this way.”
Mr Trump's administration has intensified a crackdown against perceived adversaries of the Republican President.
The White House recently revoked the security clearances of 37 current and former intelligence professionals whom it accused of politicising and manipulating intelligence. Mr Bolton's security clearance was revoked in January.
The former adviser has become a lightning rod for criticism from Mr Trump and the wider Make America Great Again movement. Mr Patel in his 2023 book described Mr Bolton as one of the “members of the Executive Branch Deep State”.
In an interview with The National following the presidential election last year, in which Mr Trump triumphed, Mr Bolton voiced concern over the direction his former boss would take the country.
“If you tell me the fight is between Donald Trump and the Constitution, the Constitution is going to win. It may be ugly, but the system will prevail,” he said.
“People still have faith in the basic institutions. I believe and hope, anyway, that Trump is an aberration in American politics. He did damage in the first term. Some of that’s being repaired. He’ll do more damage in the second term. There’s no doubt about it.”
After Mr Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week, Mr Bolton told CNN that Mr Putin "clearly won" the summit while Mr Trump looked "very tired", and there was no meaningful progress on ending the war in Ukraine. Mr Bolton has also been critical of Mr Patel, telling NBC's Meet The Press in December that the Senate should reject his nomination "100-0".
Right before the raid reportedly occurred, Mr Bolton commented on the current state of talks on X.
"Russia has not changed its goal: drag Ukraine into a new Russian Empire. Moscow has demanded that Ukraine cede territory it already holds and the remainder of Donetsk, which it has been unable to conquer. Zelenskyy will never do so," he wrote. "Meanwhile, meetings will continue because Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize, but I don't see these talks making any progress."
