FBI seized phones, computer equipment, folders during search of Bolton's home, records show

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI seized phones, computer equipment and typed documents from the home of John Bolton as part of an investigation into whether President Donald Trump's first-term national security adviser mishandled government secrets, according to court records unsealed Thursday.

The criminal investigation burst into view last month when agents searched Bolton's home in Bethesda, Maryland and his office in the District of Columbia. A person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss the investigation by name and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity said at the time that it concerned allegations of the potential mishandling of classified information. No charges have been filed.

A coalition of news organizations had urged a judge in Maryland, where the FBI had applied to a judge for a search warrant, to unseal records surrounding the search, citing a “tremendous public interest” that they said outweighed the need for continued secrecy.

Redacted documents were made public Thursday that shed new light on the investigation. Among them is a search warrant inventory showing that the FBI took from the home multiple phones, computer equipment, four boxes containing daily printed activities, typed documents in folders labeled “Trump I-IV," and other materials.

The court records also cite two criminal statutes underpinning the investigation, including laws that make it a crime to gather, transmit or lose defense information and the unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or materials.

Bolton has not spoken publicly about the circumstances of the investigation since the search, and did not return a phone message left at a number listed for him.

Bolton served for 17 months as national security adviser during Trump's first term, clashing with him over Iran, Afghanistan and North Korea, before being fired in 2019. He has openly criticized Trump's approach to foreign policy and government, including in a book he published called “The Room Where it Happened” that portrayed Trump as ill-informed.