ISTANBUL

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized phones, computer equipment, and folders from former National Security Adviser John Bolton's Maryland home as part of an investigation into possible classified information mishandling, according to court records unsealed.

The Washington Times reported on Thursday that the search, which also targeted Bolton’s Washington office last month, revealed agents collected multiple phones, computers, four boxes of printed schedules, typed documents labeled “Trump I–IV,” and a binder marked “Statements and Reflections to Allied Strikes.”

The filings cite criminal statutes governing the unauthorized retention or transmission of national defense materials.

Bolton, who served 17 months in US President Donald Trump’s White House before being dismissed in 2019, has frequently criticized the president and detailed their clashes in his 2020 memoir, The Room Where It Happened.

His attorney, Abbe David Lowell, denounced the investigation, claiming that the Justice Department is “under pressure to satisfy a president out for political revenge.”

“The materials taken from Amb. Bolton’s home are the ordinary records of a 40-year career… Any thorough review will show (that) nothing inappropriate was stored or kept by Amb. Bolton,” he added.

No charges have been filed, and the newly released records do not specify whether further evidence has been uncovered.