Foreign hack of John Bolton's AOL account cited as part of reasoning for searching his house

Source: CNN Politics

PUBLISHED Sep 12, 2025, 6:01 PM ET


Federal investigators had reason to believe they would find classified records in a search of John Bolton’s Maryland home last month partly because of what they had learned about a foreign adversary hacking his email years ago, according to a search warrant affidavit released Friday.

Information around the hack could become a central part of the case that investigators have been working on for years, if Bolton were to be charged with a crime, the search warrant suggests. Bolton was a national security adviser during President Donald Trump’s first term and a longtime war hawk and foreign policy specialist whom Trump now loathes. He faces no criminal charges at this time.

The FBI’s discussion of the hack of Bolton’s AOL account in the affidavit covers several paragraphs, though the entirety of that section of the affidavit is redacted, except for its introductory headline: “Hack of Bolton AOL Account by Foreign Entity.”

The inclusion of the section about the hack indicates that it has become a key reason for investigators to believe Bolton may have violated laws that prohibit the unsecured keeping or sharing of national defense and classified records following his departure from the White House in the fall of 2019.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/12/politics/john-bolton-foreign-aol-hack