The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on the 22nd (local time) raided the home and office of former adviser Bolton. There are analyses suggesting that President Trump's 'political revenge' has intensified. Although President Trump denied any relevance to the investigation, suspicions are growing that he has mobilized judicial power to silence criticism.
On that day at 7 a.m. (local time), the FBI unexpectedly raided Bolton's home in Bethesda, Maryland, citing the previously dismissed allegation of leaking confidential information from Bolton's memoirs four years ago. Kash Patel, the Director General of the FBI who led the investigation, is considered a loyalist to President Trump. On the day of the investigation, he posted on social media that 'no one is above the law.'
Major U.S. media outlets unanimously published critical editorials. The major outlets interpreted the raid as the climax of a political revenge campaign. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) pointed out that "Trump's revenge campaign has taken a ominous turn," stating, "It is hard to see it as anything other than retribution." The Washington Post (WP) expressed concern that "using the government as a weapon against political opponents sparks a vicious cycle of reciprocal retaliation." The New York Times (NYT) characterized it as "opening a new chapter in the revenge campaign against critics."
It was also revealed that President Trump had repeatedly launched attacks against Bolton just before the raid. After Bolton criticized President Trump's meeting with Putin in Alaska during a media interview, saying, "Putin has already won," President Trump retaliated on social media by calling him a "fired loser" and "moron." A close aide told WP that "President Trump was annoyed by Bolton's criticism."
Former adviser Bolton served as national security adviser in President Trump's first administration for 17 months. A representative hardliner in diplomatic and security matters, he aligned with President Trump on issues like the withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA). However, he maintained a hardline approach as a warhawk on key issues like North Korea, Iran, and Afghanistan, leading to frequent conflicts with both moderate dove-like advisers and President Trump.
The conflict was particularly deep regarding the denuclearization of North Korea. Bolton argued for a 'Libya model' where North Korea would first give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for lifting economic sanctions. This evoked images of the collapse of the North Korean regime, eliciting fierce backlash from North Korea. President Trump, who was trying to improve relations with North Korea, criticized this as a 'disaster.' Ultimately, their relationship escalated into a crisis, and President Trump dismissed Bolton in September 2019.
After leaving the White House, Bolton transformed into a 'Trump sniper.' In 2020, he published a memoir titled 'The Room Where It Happened,' criticizing President Trump's foreign policy as 'based on re-election calculations' and exposing national governance instability. President Trump tried to prevent the publication by alleging that Bolton leaked national secrets, but the court dismissed this.
After President Trump successfully re-elected in January of this year, 'revenge' became a reality. On his first day in office, President Trump revoked the security clearance of dozens of former officials, including Bolton. He also halted government protection previously provided due to threats of assassination in Iran.