When news hit last week that federal agents had raided John Bolton’s Maryland home and Washington office, the reaction was as predictable as it was hysterical. The left immediately leapt into hysterics, spinning the story as proof of Trump’s alleged obsession with revenge, tying it to Bolton’s bitter falling-out with him. Within hours, the usual chorus was screeching the same tired lines: Democracy is under attack! Trump is a dictator! This was pure political retribution!
Only it wasn’t.
A new report from—if you can believe it—the New York Times has thrown cold water on that absurd little storyline. According to their reporting, the roots of this investigation don’t trace back to Trump at all. In fact, the probe gained traction under the Biden administration—an inconvenient truth that blows up the liberal media’s theory of political retribution.
The investigation into President Trump’s former national security adviser, John R. Bolton, began to pick up momentum during the Biden administration, when U.S. intelligence officials collected information that appeared to show that he had mishandled classified information, according to people familiar with the inquiry.
The United States gathered data from an adversarial country’s spy service, including emails with sensitive information that Mr. Bolton, while still working in the first Trump administration, appeared to have sent to people close to him on an unclassified system, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive case that remains open.
Sources say the emails at the heart of the case were written by Bolton himself and contained information pulled from classified documents he had access to while serving in the White House. Even worse, those messages were allegedly sent to people close to him as he pieced together his infamous 2020 anti-Trump book, The Room Where It Happened.
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The seriousness of the breach explains why independent magistrates in both Maryland and Washington, D.C., reviewed the evidence and approved federal search warrants for Bolton’s properties. That doesn’t happen lightly. Courts don’t sign off on those warrants unless investigators make a strong showing of probable cause.
In a sign of the stakes for Mr. Bolton, he is in talks to retain the high-profile criminal defense lawyer Abbe Lowell. Mr. Lowell, who has represented Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Mr. Biden’s son Hunter, is defending two other prominent perceived enemies of Mr. Trump who are now under scrutiny: the New York state attorney general, Letitia James, and Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board.
Once again, the left’s narrative falls apart under the weight of the facts. The raid on Bolton’s home wasn’t retribution—it was driven by serious allegations about the mishandling of classified information, overseen with layers of judicial scrutiny. Whether or not Bolton ultimately faces charges, one thing is clear: playing fast and loose with national security secrets is no trivial matter, and it won’t be dismissed as just another partisan talking point.
Outrage exploded over the Bolton raid, yet the real story shatters the left’s spin. The mainstream media dodges facts; PJ Media delivers them fearlessly. Access exclusive, ad-free content as a PJ Media VIP—use code FIGHT for 60% off. Take action now; America’s truth needs defenders!
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