White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Tuesday accused former national security adviser John Bolton of “profiteering off of America’s secrets” days after federal agents searched Bolton’s home and office.
Navarro, writing an op-ed in The Hill, took aim at Bolton over some of the information included in his 2020 book, “The Room Where It Happened.”
Bolton, who served for 17 months as President Trump’s national security adviser during his first term, is reportedly facing an investigation over his handling of classified information.
“When Bolton wrote his book, ‘The Room Where It Happened,’ he wasn’t just dishing gossip,” Navarro wrote in The Hill. “He was trafficking in Oval Office conversations and national security intelligence that should have stayed secret — either by law or under executive privilege.”
Navarro cited 2020 comments from a federal judge, who said there was little he could do to stop the publication of Bolton’s book because the horse “seems to be out of the barn.”
Trump’s top trade adviser, who has clashed throughout his time in Trump’s orbit with other White House officials, also pointed to a handful of specific examples in Bolton’s book that he argued crossed the line.
Navarro pointed to Bolton’s description of deliberations on how to address Nicolás Maduro’s regime in Venezuela; his description of negotiations with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un; and his recounting of what NATO allies said behind closed doors.
“That isn’t service. That isn’t patriotism. That’s profiteering off of America’s secrets,” Navarro wrote.
The op-ed was published after federal agents last Friday searched Bolton’s home.
Bolton has been an outspoken critic of the president, particularly on matters of foreign policy. Neither Bolton nor a spokesperson has commented publicly on the search, though an op-ed penned by Bolton on Trump’s handling of the war in Ukraine was published Monday in the Washington Examiner.
The search has raised alarms among Democrats and Trump critics, who have expressed concerns it is a case of retribution against someone the president does not like. Trump has said he was not aware of the search beforehand.
Navarro last year served a four-month sentence for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
