We finally have an idea why John Bolton is in hot water — and the factor that could bring things to a boil



John Bolton, President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, is reportedly under investigation for allegedly mishandling classified information. If held to his own standard, then his days as a free man might be numbered.

Nearly a year after the FBI's 2022 raid of Trump's Palm Beach residence, Jack Smith — the special counsel illegally appointed by Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland — charged Trump with supposedly mishandling classified information.

'Bolton likely jeopardized national security by disclosing classified information in violation of his nondisclosure agreements.'

Bolton was among those who rushed to attack the president, happily touring liberal newsrooms with smears and speculation. He told Biden press secretary turned MSNBC talking head Jen Psaki, for instance, that he was "pretty confident" the allegations in the Trump indictment were true.

While admittedly oblivious to the contents of the documents that Trump supposedly retained, Bolton told CNN, "They did go to absolute, the most important secrets that the United States has, directly affecting national security, directly affecting the lives and safety of our service members and our civilian population. If he has anything like what … the indictment alleges, and of course the government will have to prove it, then he has committed very serious crimes."

"This really is a rifle shot," Bolton said in reference to the indictment, "and I think it should be the end of Donald Trump’s political career."

While Trump's case was ultimately dismissed, Bolton's troubles with the law are apparently beginning to snowball.

RELATED: Jack Smith tried to take Trump off the board. Now he's set for a reckoning.

FBI conducts authorized search of Bolton's house on Aug. 22. Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

The FBI raided Bolton's home in Bethesda, Maryland, on the morning of Aug. 22 on FBI Director Kash Patel's orders. Later in the day, federal agents searched Bolton's Washington, D.C., office.

A top U.S. official told the New York Post that the raid was in connection with a resurrected probe involving Bolton's alleged use of a private email server to send classified national security documents to family members from his work desk prior to his September 2019 dismissal by Trump.

The official told the Post, "While Bolton was a national security adviser, he was literally stealing classified information, utilizing his family as a cutout."

'Washed up Creepster John Bolton is a lowlife who should be in jail.'

In Trump's first term, the Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into whether Bolton disclosed classified information in his book, "The Room Where It Happened," after first proving unable to stop the publication of the book with a lawsuit.

The Trump administration failed to secure an injunction because Bolton's book had already made its way into the hands of booksellers.

"Bolton likely jeopardized national security by disclosing classified information in violation of his nondisclosure agreements," wrote U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth. "The government sufficiently alleges that Bolton disclosed information without confirming that the information was unclassified."

Lamberth noted further that while "Bolton may indeed have caused the country irreparable harm," "with hundreds of thousands of copies around the globe — many in newsrooms — the damage is done."

RELATED: Gabbard CLEANS HOUSE after warning Brennan, Clapper 'have a lot of their own people' squirreled away

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Trump noted in June 2020, "Washed up Creepster John Bolton is a lowlife who should be in jail, money seized, for disseminating, for profit, highly Classified information."

The case was referred to the DOJ by then-Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, but the resulting investigation was torpedoed by President Joe Biden's administration for "political reasons," according a top U.S. official.

The probe has been reopened — and it appears that the stakes are higher than previously acknowledged, as Bolton's alleged carelessness was exploited by a foreign regime.

Individuals said to be familiar with the investigation but speaking on the condition of anonymity recently told the New York Times that the U.S. gathered data from an adversarial country's spy service and found emails containing sensitive information that Bolton allegedly sent to individuals "close to him" on an unclassified system while still working for the Trump administration.

It is presently unclear which adversarial nation obtained the emails.

The individuals familiar with the probe indicated that the emails contained information apparently taken from classified documents Bolton had seen while serving as Trump's national security adviser.

Bolton is evidently taking the investigation seriously, having reportedly had discussions with Abbe Lowell, the high-profile criminal defense attorney who has represented pardoned felon Hunter Biden, New York state Attorney General Letitia James, and ex-Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook.

The White House referred Blaze News to the DOJ for comment, which declined to comment when pressed by the Times. Bolton also reportedly declined to comment.

On his first day back in office, Trump revoked any security clearances Bolton might have held.

Trump noted that the publication of Bolton's memoir "created a grave risk that classified material was publicly exposed" and "undermined the ability of future presidents to request and obtain candid advice on matters of national security from their staff."

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Never Trumpers Who Cheered Mar-A-Lago Raid Melt Down At Search Of Bolton’s House

The FBI searched the home of former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton on Friday, reportedly in relation to Bolton’s alleged possession of classified documents. Unsurprisingly, the same people who had no problem when the FBI raided the home of President Donald Trump are melting down. Olivia Troye, former Homeland Security adviser to Vice President […]

'NO ONE is above the law': FBI raids former national security adviser John Bolton's home



Within minutes of FBI Director Kash Patel tweeting on Friday morning, "NO ONE is above the law... FBI agents on mission," federal agents raided the D.C.-area home of John Bolton, President Donald Trump's former national security adviser.

A Trump administration official told the New York Post that federal agents stormed Bolton's Bethesda, Maryland, house at 7 a.m. on Patel's orders.

The raid is in connection to a probe reportedly involving classified documents that was launched years ago but torpedoed by President Joe Biden's administration for "political reasons," according a top U.S. official.

The Department of Justice during Trump's first term opened a criminal investigation in 2020 into whether Bolton disclosed classified information in his book, "The Room Where It Happened," after first proving unable to stop the publication of the book with a lawsuit.

The case was referred to the DOJ by then-Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe.

Trump noted in June 2020, "Washed up Creepster John Bolton is a lowlife who should be in jail, money seized, for disseminating, for profit, highly Classified information. Remember what they did to the young submarine sailor, but did nothing to Crooked Hillary. I ended up pardoning him — It wasn’t fair!"

In his book and during various media appearances since its publication, Bolton has viciously attacked the president, suggesting, for instance, that Trump is "unfit to be president" and claiming, "Trump really cares only about retribution for himself, and it will consume much of a second term."

Shortly after the raid commenced, a tweet — which may have been pre-scheduled — appeared on Bolton's X account, stating, "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. Zelensky will never do so. Meanwhile, meetings will continue because Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize, but I don't see these talks making any progress."

This is a developing story.

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Classified Documents Were Safer At Mar-A-Lago Than With The FBI

It seems that in the hands of the FBI, no document was safe from the whim of agents eschewing public transparency.

The real spyware threat could be in your pocket



U.S. intelligence agencies are on high alert after CNN reported that Iran is actively preparing cyberattacks aimed at critical government and military infrastructure. But the real threat may already be inside the wire — not from foreign hackers at a keyboard, but from mobile phones unknowingly or deliberately carried into the nation’s most sensitive facilities.

The devices we carry every day are now among our greatest national security vulnerabilities.

In 2025, secrets aren’t stolen with a crowbar. They’re stolen with an app.

Despite years of post-9/11 investments in hardened infrastructure, the federal government has been remiss in investing in a sensor network to keep pace with the risks of wireless technology now embedded in daily life.

When the first iPhone was introduced in 2007, it ushered in a new era of hyper-connected mobility. Since then, innovation has continued to explode, bringing countless benefits but also exposing serious vulnerabilities.

Our most secure government facilities are wide open to wireless threats.

Today, up to 90% of secure government facilities rely on little more than the honor system and self-reporting to keep unauthorized wireless devices — mobile phones, smartwatches, rogue transmitters — out of sensitive compartmented information facilities, special access program facilities, and other high-security zones. In an era of Pegasus spyware and remote malware, this should be viewed as a national security malpractice.

Portable security risks

The modern smartphone is a traitor’s dream — portable, powerful, and everywhere. It records audio and video, it transmits data instantaneously via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular networks, and it connects to everything — from commercial clouds to encrypted chat apps. And yet these devices are routinely brought into facilities housing classified intelligence data, most often undetected and without consequence.

Take the case of Asif W. Rahman, a former CIA analyst who held a top-secret security clearance and was recently sentenced to three years in federal prison for photographing classified information and transmitting it to unauthorized recipients, who then posted the material to social media. Snapping and sharing photos of classified government documents using a smartphone is stunningly simple, with no high-tech espionage or daring break-ins required.

Every week offers new examples like this. People inside the Department of Defense and State Department have been caught photographing screens, copying documents, and walking classified data right out the door. These are crimes of opportunity, enabled by lax enforcement and outdated security measures.

If a wireless intrusion detection system were in place, the device would have triggered an alert and stopped these breaches before they became major national security failures.

Exploiting our weaknesses

Now, with Iran probing for cyber vulnerabilities, the risk of insiders being exploited or coerced into facilitating digital breaches through personal devices has never been higher. And it can happen without a trace if the right wireless defenses aren’t in place.

In 2023, the secretary of defense issued a memo directing all Defense Department offices to install wireless intrusion detection systems to monitor unauthorized devices. The technology works. It detects any device that emits a wireless signal — such as phones, smartwatches, or even printers with Wi-Fi — inside a restricted area. Yet the directive remains largely unfunded and unenforced.

RELATED: After the bombs, Iran sharpens its digital daggers

Gwengoat via iStock/Getty Images

Near-peer adversaries, terrorist groups, and criminal syndicates are exploiting wireless threats to their advantage. They don’t need sophisticated tradecraft and specialized technologies. They simply need to compromise and leverage someone with access and a phone. And with thousands of secure facilities across the country, that opportunity presents itself every day.

In light of the latest intelligence warnings, we need to fund wireless intrusion detection across all SCIFs and SAPFs and educate agency leaders on the vulnerabilities posed by modern smartphones.

We need to hold bad actors accountable — not retroactively or as part of a congressional committee hearing, but by making sure they never have the opportunity to compromise the integrity of national security in the first place.

Protecting digital secrets

The U.S. government has spent billions building concrete walls, locking doors, and implementing network-specific defenses to protect its secrets. But in 2025, secrets aren’t stolen with a crowbar; they’re stolen with an app.

Until we treat the wireless threat with the same seriousness, those secrets will remain just one text message or compromised phone away from unauthorized disclosure of highly classified information.

You can’t protect your most sensitive state secrets if you are blind to the threat. Without action, these vulnerabilities will only grow more dangerous — and more missions and lives may be put at risk.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by RealClearDefense and made available via RealClearWire.

Classified Report That Suggested Iranian Nuclear Program Still Intact Likely Relied on Faulty Info From Iranian Sources, Former Intel Officers Say

The top-secret Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) assessment that claimed Iran’s nuclear sites suffered only moderate damage likely relied on faulty information from deceitful Iranian sources, according to several former U.S. intelligence officers, one of whom described the document as so unreliable "you can wipe your ass with it."

The post Classified Report That Suggested Iranian Nuclear Program Still Intact Likely Relied on Faulty Info From Iranian Sources, Former Intel Officers Say appeared first on .

Senators To National Archives: Turn Over Records From Biden Admin’s Get-Trump Lawfare

Republican Sens. Ron Johnson, Wis., and Chuck Grassley, Iowa, sent a formal letter to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requesting additional government records related to the Biden administration’s role in the “election interference” case targeting then-former President Donald Trump. The letter, sent April 30, to NARA Acting General Counsel Hannah Bergman and Acting […]

Trump’s JFK Files Release Is About Restoring Americans’ Trust In Government

The release of the JFK files was never about solving a conspiracy. It was about ushering in a new era of government transparency.

The Kennedy assassination isn’t history — it’s a warning



Ben Shapiro recently asked, “Does it really matter who shot John F. Kennedy?” My answer is “yes and no.” If the question concerns whether finding out who shot Kennedy is the most pressing issue facing our country, I concur with Shapiro that the answer is clearly “no.”

But the release of 80,000 previously unseen documents isn’t just about who killed JFK. It’s about a long-standing pattern of deception, manipulation, and lawlessness from the highest levels of government — and that is one of the most pressing issues facing our country today.

The moment we stop asking questions is the moment when bad actors within our institutions know they can get away with corruption.

For over 60 years, the official narrative surrounding Kennedy’s assassination has been that Lee Harvey Oswald pulled off a near-impossible series of shots. The improbability of his success is heightened by puzzling facts, such as KGB reports that Oswald was a horrible marksman coupled with his subpar rifle.

This is the story we’ve been told to accept without question. But what we now know raises deeply troubling questions about what really happened and, more importantly, why the government is so determined to keep the whole truth from us.

Cracks in the narrative

The recent document release didn’t give us a smoking gun, but it did confirm a pattern of CIA malfeasance that should alarm every American.

We now have solid evidence that the CIA was running illegal domestic espionage operations — including spying on Barry Goldwater, the Republican presidential nominee in 1964. If the intelligence agencies were willing to illegally surveil a major political figure back then, what do you think they’re capable of now?

The unchecked power of our intelligence agencies did not begin or end with the Kennedy assassination — it is a systemic issue that continues to this day.

For decades, the intelligence community has fought transparency at every turn. Each time a president promises to release the complete JFK files, the CIA steps in to block key documents.

The most recent example came under President Biden, when CIA Director William Burns personally urged the White House to keep certain records classified. Burns, notably, was one of several government officials who met with Jeffrey Epstein — three times.

The same agency now citing “national security” concerns over files from the 1960s is the same one tied to Epstein. That connection alone should raise serious questions for every American.

Corruption beyond JFK

This pattern of deception extends far beyond the Kennedy assassination.

We’ve seen it in Benghazi, where Americans died, and the truth was buried under bureaucratic stonewalling. We saw it in the aftermath of 9/11, when former FBI agents alleged that the CIA was running an illegal domestic spy ring and even attempted to recruit two of the hijackers before the attack. And we’ve seen it in the blatant weaponization of intelligence agencies against political opponents — from the Russia collusion hoax to the unprecedented persecution of a sitting and former president.

In recent memory, critical evidence regarding the truth of what happened on January 6 — including text messages from Kamala Harris’ Secret Service detail — mysteriously disappeared. Or COVID-19, where intelligence agencies, including Britain’s MI6, have now admitted it was "beyond reasonable doubt" that the virus was engineered in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. And yet for years, anyone who dared suggest such a possibility was smeared as a conspiracy theorist.

Always ask questions

Asking questions — whether it be about JFK’s assassination, Benghazi, COVID-19, or any other “conspiracy theory” — is critical. The moment we stop is the moment when bad actors within our institutions know they can get away with corruption. Rebuilding trust in our institutions begins with asking the right questions and identifying the infection to provide the proper remedy.

The intelligence community has operated with impunity for decades because we, the American people, have been conditioned to accept its narratives without question. The JFK files are not just about a 62-year-old assassination; they are a case study in how deep-state corruption endures and evolves.

If the CIA had nothing to hide, why is the agency still hiding it?

We need to rebuild trust in our institutions — not through blind faith but through real accountability.

America’s founders didn’t place their trust in government officials. They trusted the system of checks and balances designed to limit power. Those safeguards have eroded, but they can be restored.

We don’t need to believe in bureaucrats. We need a system that exposes the truth, prosecutes wrongdoing, and applies justice equally. Until that happens, public distrust will grow — and for good reason.

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FBI whistleblower: ‘People inside the FBI have been working night and day to destroy files’



Kash Patel is officially the director of the FBI, and last week Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed that the Epstein documents were sitting on her desk awaiting review. So where are they?

Why hasn’t the Epstein list been released as promised?

According to FBI whistleblower Garret O’Boyle, the FBI is rushing to destroy evidence before Kash Patel and newly appointed Deputy Director Dan Bongino can investigate.

“People inside the FBI have been working night and day to destroy files on these servers, and I was told that once these files are destroyed, the way they are set up that even Elon Musk could not restore them,” O’Boyle told Benny Johnson on “The Benny Johnson Show.”

Does this have anything to do with the delay in the release of Epstein’s list?

“Blaze News Tonight” host Jill Savage and Blaze News editor in chief Matthew Peterson dive into the scandal.

“I question the timing of this story,” says Peterson. “These people have known that they were going to have to delete files for a while, right? So I'm 100% sure that there has been deletion going on for some time.”

At this point, there’s only one thing that can be done, he says: “Get in there as fast as possible” and “go after those people [who deleted files] and punish them.”

Peterson has faith that the new powers at the FBI will do what’s right — “Is Dan Bongino not going to try to find those people and punish them? Of course he is. Is Kash Patel going to hold back and hesitate to pull the trigger? No, of course not,” he says.

Jill then brings up Bondi’s sudden silence on the matter. Last weekend, she teased the release by claiming that the documents were sitting on her desk.

“I'm sure that there's a lot of legal things under the surface that you and I don't necessarily know about, but at some point, they need to make good on these promises,” she says.

“Documents like this probably have all kinds of private information; it gets complicated very quickly; then there's laws about these things ... but of course, in this case, we've had this information [held in secret] for a while,” adds Peterson.

“Everyone in the world wants it,” and if the “information doesn't start coming out in a relatively short period of time,” the MAGA base “is going to be extremely angry.”

To hear more of the panel’s commentary, watch the episode above.

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