The Plot Thickens: Bolton Raid, Comey Exposed

TOP LINE

Based on my more than two decades of reporting in Washington D.C., it appears the Trump Administration is laying the groundwork for a series of high profile FBI raids and indictments. 

On Friday, the FBI launched raids on the home and office of former National Security Advisor and Trump critic, John Bolton.  Taking such an overt law enforcement action against a long-time Republican could be seen as an effort to blunt criticism when the FBI aggressively pursues Democratic targets as well as former government officials like FBI Director James Comey.

Timing matters. The Bolton raids unfolded as the Justice Department released the long awaited transcripts from its jailhouse interview with Ghislaine Maxwell over the Epstein controversy.

The Maxwell records were released late Friday afternoon, in what appears to be a classic “Friday at 5pm Document Dump.”  This strategy is reserved for controversial topics based on the premise that news consumption drops Friday night and into the weekend.

It's a tactic used to bury a story.

DEEP DIVE

On Friday, I was among the first to report on X that FBI Director Kash Patel had reopened the high profile National Security case into Bolton, who wrote a best-selling book after he left the Trump White House under difficult circumstances.

After a dispute over whether Bolton had completed the required national security review for his book, The Room Where It Happened, a separate Justice Department investigation probed Bolton’s potential mishandling and/or leaking of government secrets.   

The probe was shut down by the Biden administration. Those in the Trump camp claim the investigation was shuttered to shield Bolton, a long-time critic of President Trump. 

I reached a trusted contact with Ambassador Bolton as the raid unfolded, and there was genuine shock and concern that the reopened FBI investigation was driven by White House revenge. 

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A day before the Bolton raid, new FBI Russia records were declassified by FBI Director Patel and released. The records revealed more evidence that Comey directed or authorized media leaks to shape the Russia Collusion narrative.  The records also indicated Comey crossed a serious redline when he allegedly authorized leaks of classified information to the New York Times.

A 2017 FBI investigation codenamed “Tropic Vortex” explored the leak of classified information to the newspaper.

“(FBI General Counsel James) Baker disclosed USG (US Government) classified information to the NYT (New York Times) under the belief he was ultimately instructed and authorized to do so by then FBI Director James Comey…

“Baker indicated FBI Chief of Staff James Rybicki instructed him (Baker) to disclose the information to the NYT, and Baker understood Rybicki was conveying this instruc(tio)n and…on from Comey.”

On President Trump’s 2017 tweet that accused former President Obama of “tapping his phones” at Trump Tower, the leak investigation revealed “a proposed statement to the news media.....originated from Comey…”  

While the statement was unclassified, it was described as a “potentially unauthorized disclosure (PUD) to the news media which appeared to be at the impi(     ) of Comey”

Special Counsel John Durham investigated the FBI’s role in the Russia Collusion scandal.  Durham ultimately recommended…

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