FBI seized documents labeled classified from John Bolton's office

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Federal agents seized multiple documents labeled “classified," “confidential” and “secret” from the office of former national security adviser John Bolton as part of an investigation into whether Bolton mishandled defense records, according to court filings that were unsealed on Tuesday.

The seized documents marked as confidential appear to be about weapons of mass destruction, national “strategic communication” and the U.S. mission to the United Nations, investigators wrote in a cataloged list of what was collected during the search in late August. The list did not specify when the documents are from. The FBI also seized phones and computer equipment at the time.

More than a dozen pages in the affidavit have partial or full redactions. It is not clear what exactly the documents contained or why they were marked secret, confidential and classified.

Abbe Lowell, an attorney for Bolton, said in a statement Wednesday the documents didn't indicate any wrongdoing. He added that many of the documents were decades old, from Bolton's long career in the State Department, as an assistant attorney general and as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

"An objective and thorough review will show nothing inappropriate was stored or kept by Amb. Bolton," Lowell said.

Bolton served for 17 months as national security adviser during Trump’s first term, clashing with him over Iran, Afghanistan and North Korea before getting ousted in 2019. He has subsequently criticized Trump’s approach to foreign policy and government, including in a 2020 book, “The Room Where it Happened,” that portrayed the president as ill-informed on foreign policy.

The search warrant affidavit says a National Security Council official had reviewed the book manuscript and told Bolton in 2020 that it appeared to contain “significant amounts” of classified information, some at a top-secret level.

Bolton's attorney said that many of the documents seized in August had been approved as part of a pre-publication review for Bolton’s book.

Bolton is the latest of Trump’s political adversaries to find themselves targeted by federal investigators. Prosecutors have also launched criminal inquiries into New York Attorney General Letitia James, California Sen. Adam Schiff and former FBI director James B. Comey.

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Riddle reported from Montgomery, Alabama.