Washington, United States – US Vice President Jay D. Vance confirmed that the administration of President Donald Trump has begun the “early stages” of an ongoing investigation against former National Security Advisor John Bolton.
But he denied that this was motivated by revenge for his critical positions towards the president.
Vance’s statements came after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executed a search warrant at Bolton’s home in Maryland on Friday morning.
“We are in the early stages of an ongoing investigation into John Bolton,” Vance said in an exclusive interview with NBC News. We will let the investigation take its course. If there are legal reasons, he will be tried under the law, not because of his political views.
He added: “Even those who disagree with us politically should not be imprisoned simply for disagreement. Rather, the law should be the only basis”.
Secret documents… and “ongoing investigations”
Vance declined to go into details of the investigation, or whether Bolton would face federal charges.
But he pointed out that the investigation revolves around the way secret documents are stored.
“The classified documents are part of the investigation, but there is broader concern about Ambassador Bolton’s conduct. This will be thoroughly investigated,” he said.
Vance confirmed that Bolton had not been detained at the time of the interview.
He indicated that he did not have new details about whether he had been arrested. He said: “As far as I know, he has not and will not be arrested unless formal charges are brought.”
According to an informed source who spoke to the BBC, a search of Bolton’s home began at seven in the morning.
The investigation includes the way secret documents were stored. Also, it examines the possibility that some of them were leaked to the media.
A tense relationship and mutual criticism
It is worth noting that Bolton served as National Security Advisor in the first Trump administration for a year and a half.
He then left office in 2019 after a sharp disagreement with the president.
Trump claimed at the time that he had fired Bolton. However, the latter said that he resigned voluntarily after differences in political visions.
Since then, Bolton has become one of Trump’s most prominent critics, especially on foreign policy issues.
In 2020, he published a book in which he claimed that Trump made political decisions based purely on electoral calculations.
In the first months of Trump’s second term, Bolton continued his criticism of the policies of the administration and a number of its members.
When asked whether these investigations were in retaliation for Bolton’s positions, Vance stressed that the case was legal, not political.
He said: “I think that if the American media and public allow this investigation to take its course, they will see that we are working strictly in accordance with the requirements of the national interest. We do this with full respect for the law. This is how it should be.
