Federal agents seized documents, iPhones, USB drives and other electronic devices during a raid on the home of Donald Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton, last month, according to newly released court documents.
The inventory of items taken from Bolton's home in Bethesda, Maryland, includes one red iPhone, one black iPhone, a white binder labelled 'Statements and Reflections to Allied Strikes…', typed documents in folders marked 'Trump I-IV', four boxes of printed daily activities, a hard drive, a Dell Precision Tower computer, two SanDisk USB drives, a Dell XPS laptop and a Dell Inspiron computer.
The search warrant was based on 'evidence of a crime', 'contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed', and property used in committing a crime. The government argued that Bolton was unaware of the investigation and might destroy evidence if alerted.
Federal agents were authorised to seize all physical documents with or without classification markings that relate to Bolton's former role as assistant to the president for National Security Affairs. They also sought any communications regarding the retrieval, storage or transmission of classified material or information related to national defence.
The raid, part of a federal investigation into the handling of classified documents, has been viewed as a reflection of the Trump administration's increasing use of the FBI against critics. FBI director Kash Patel posted on X: 'NO ONE is above the law… FBI agents on mission.'
Bolton served as Trump's third national security adviser for 17 months before his dismissal in 2019. He clashed with Trump over foreign policy and later published a memoir detailing Trump's ignorance of geopolitics and alleged requests for foreign help in the 2020 election.
