JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Today, we're tracking two developments from the Justice Department. This morning, the FBI searched both the home and office of John Bolton, who served as national security advisor during President Trump's first term. Bolton later emerged as a vocal critic of the president. And then this afternoon, the department released transcripts of its interviews with Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Trump administration has been under fire for its handling of the Epstein matter. NPR justice correspondent Ryan Lucas is here in studio, has been following this. Hi there.
RYAN LUCAS, BYLINE: Hi there.
SUMMERS: Ryan, let's start with John Bolton. What can you tell us about the search today and what the FBI is investigating?
LUCAS: Well, the FBI conducted searches, as you said, of Bolton's home in Bethesda, Maryland, which is right outside of D.C., as well as his office in downtown D.C. Now, in both instances, the FBI says that it was conducting court-authorized searches. It says there's no threat to public safety. The FBI didn't provide any more details, but two people familiar with the matter tell me that this is tied to an investigation into Bolton's handling or potential mishandling of classified documents.
SUMMERS: And, Ryan, we know that Bolton was involved in a legal battle with President Trump years ago during the first Trump administration. Is this the same legal fight?
LUCAS: It's not immediately clear. The Justice Department, during Trump's first term, sued Bolton to try to block publication of his book, a memoir about his time in the Trump White House. The Trump administration argued that the book had classified information in it. Bolton said he moved forward with the book only after it had been cleared by administration officials. In the end, the Justice Department's lawsuit didn't succeed. Bolton's book was published. It was in bookstores. And for years now, Bolton has been a very outspoken critic, as you said, of President Trump. Trump, for his part, has also taken plenty of swipes himself at Bolton, including today.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I'm not a fan of John Bolton. I thought he was a sleazebag, actually. And he suffers major Trump derangement syndrome.
LUCAS: Now Trump also said today that he didn't know anything about the FBI's actions. He said he tries to stay out of this sort of thing. He did add, though, that he is the chief law enforcement officer. And he also brought up that the FBI searched his Mar-a-Lago home for classified documents, which, of course, is a topic that he frequently brings up when he rails against the so-called deep state against his perceived enemies and talks about the need for revenge.
SUMMERS: Right, and we know that Trump campaigned on seeking vengeance against people he perceives as enemies. So Ryan, does that raise concerns about whether the FBI actions today are driven by politics rather than legitimate investigative concerns?
LUCAS: Well, look, there's a lot that we don't know about this investigation at this point. Now, the FBI says these were, as I said, court-authorized searches, which would mean that magistrate judges would have had to sign off on them. Vice President JD Vance was on NBC today. He denied that Bolton is being targeted because he's a Trump critic.
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JD VANCE: We're in the very early stages of an ongoing investigation into John Bolton. I will say we're going to let that investigation proceed.
LUCAS: Now, Vance also said this.
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VANCE: Our focus here is on, did he break the law? Did he commit crimes against the American people? If so, then he deserves to be prosecuted.
LUCAS: Now, it's highly unusual - some people would even say inappropriate - for a White House official, let alone the vice president, to be talking about an ongoing investigation. It's also curious, I'll say, that he's saying, we are doing this and it's not the Justice Department. Traditionally, the Justice Department has been independent from the White House when it comes to investigations and prosecutions, and that's to make sure that decisions are not and do not appear to be driven by politics. And so concerns about politics driving decisions now are not just because of Bolton. I'll remind you that the Justice Department recently opened investigations into two other prominent Trump critics - California Democratic Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
SUMMERS: Right. Quickly, Ryan, while we still have you, what can you tell us about the transcripts that the Justice Department just released from it's Ghislaine Maxwell interview?
LUCAS: Right. These are transcripts from an interview done last month by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously served as Trump's personal attorney. The Justice Department has in the past, raised questions about Maxwell's credibility. She at one point faced perjury charges for allegedly lying in a deposition. She was also convicted of helping Epstein sexually abuse underage women. The Justice Department, though, ultimately decided that an interview was something that they wanted to do, and that's in part because they wanted to try to tamp down the public uproar over its handling of the Epstein files.
SUMMERS: NPR's Ryan Lucas, thanks as always.
LUCAS: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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