FBI searches John Bolton’s home, office : NPR

Juana Summers, host:

Today, we follow two developments from the Ministry of Justice. This morning, the FBI searched the house and office of John Bolton, who was a national security advisor during President Trump’s first term. Bolton later became a vocal critic of the president. And then this afternoon, the department published transcriptions of its interviews with Ghislaine Maxwell, the long-standing partner of the sex offender sentenced Jeffrey Epstein. The Trump administration was under fire for its management of the Epstein case. The NPR justice correspondent, Ryan Lucas, is here in the studio, followed this. Hi.

Ryan Lucas, Byline: Hi there.

Summers: Ryan, let’s start with John Bolton. What can you tell us about research today and what the FBI investigates?

Lucas: Well, the FBI has made searches, as you said, from Bolton’s house to Bethesda, Maryland, which is just outside DC, as well as its office in the city center of DC now, in both cases, the FBI says that it was doing automated research by court. He says there is no threat to public security. The FBI did not provide more details, but two people familiar with the question tell me that this is linked to an investigation into the manipulation of Bolton or the potential reflection of classified documents.

Summers: And, Ryan, we know that Bolton was involved in a legal battle with President Trump years ago during the first Trump administration. Is it the same legal fight?

Lucas: It’s not immediately clear. The Ministry of Justice, during Trump’s first term, continued Bolton to try to block the publication of his book, Memoir on his stay at the Trump White House. The Trump administration argued that the book had classified information there. Bolton said he had advanced with the book only after being erased by administration officials. In the end, the trial of the Ministry of Justice did not succeed. Bolton’s book has been published. It was in bookstores. And for years now, Bolton has been a very frank critic, as you said, President Trump. Trump, for his part, has also done a lot of scans in Bolton, including today.

(Soundbit of archived registration)

President Donald Trump: I’m not a fan of John Bolton. I thought it was a sleazebag, in fact. And he undergoes Trump’s major disturbance syndrome.

Lucas: Now Trump also said today that he knew nothing about FBI’s actions. He said he is trying to stay out of this kind of thing. He added, however, that he is the head of the police. And he also mentioned that the FBI searched his house in Mar-A-Lago for classified documents, which, of course, is a subject which he frequently raises when he has repercussions against the so-called deep state against his perceived enemies and speaks of the need to take revenge.

Summers: Okay, and we know that Trump campaigned on the search for revenge against the people he perceives as enemies. So Ryan, does that raise concerns about whether FBI’s actions are now motivated by politics rather than legitimate investigations of investigation?

Lucas: Well, look, there are a lot of things that we do not know about this investigation at this stage. Now the FBI says that it was, as I said, searches in court, which would mean that the judges of magistrate should have signed them. Vice-president JD Vance was on NBC today. He denied that Bolton is targeted because he is a Trump critic.

(Soundbit of archived registration)

JD VANCE: We are in the early stadiums of an underway investigation into John Bolton. I will say that we will let this investigation take place.

Lucas: Now Vance also said that.

(Soundbit of archived registration)

Vance: Our goal here is, he breaks the law? Did he commit crimes against the American people? If so, he deserves to be prosecuted.

Lucas: Now, it’s very unusual – some people would even say inappropriate – for a White House official, not to mention the vice -president, to speak of an in progress in progress. He is also curious, say, that he says, we do this and it is not the Ministry of Justice. Traditionally, the Ministry of Justice has been independent of the White House with regard to surveys and prosecution, and it is to ensure that decisions are not and do not seem to be motivated by politics. And therefore concerns about political conduct decisions are not only because of Bolton. I remind you that the Ministry of Justice recently opened investigations on two other eminent Trump criticisms – the California Democratic Senator Adam Schiff and the New York Prosecutor General Letitia James.

Summers: Right. Ryan quickly, although we still have you, what can you tell us about the transcriptions that the Ministry of Justice has just released from its interview Ghislaine Maxwell?

Lucas: right. These are transcriptions of an interview carried out last month by the deputy prosecutor Todd Blanche, who previously was Trump’s personal lawyer. In the past, the Ministry of Justice has raised questions about Maxwell’s credibility. At one point, she faced charges of perjury for having allegedly gyed in a deposition. She was also sentenced to having helped Epstein to sexually abuse minor women. The Ministry of Justice, however, finally decided that an interview was something they wanted to do, and it was partly because they wanted to try to repress the public outcry on its management of Epstein files.

Summers: Ryan Lucas of NPR, thank you as always.

Lucas: Thank you.

Copyright © 2025 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit the pages of use of the conditions of use of our website on www.npr.org for more information.

The accuracy and availability of NPR transcriptions may vary. The transcription text can be revised to correct errors or match audio updates. Audio on npr.org can be published after its original broadcast or publication. The file authorizing the NPR programming is the audio recording.