The names included those who worked on a review of possible Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. In a memo, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard accused the staffers of "politicization or weaponization of intelligence for partisan purposes."
On Friday, the FBI searched John Bolton’s home in Maryland and office in Washington, D.C. Bolton was a national security adviser in Trump’s first administration, and since leaving in 2019, he has become a sharp critic of Trump, attacking his foreign policy and national security decisions.
Washington Week moderator Jeffrey Goldberg discussed the pattern of retribution in Trump's second term with his panelists on Friday. "This action among others sort of gives a sense of political retribution," said Matt Viser of The Washington Post.
"I think it's aimed at political opponents or who Trump perceives as his political opponent." "The fact that they raided and searched John Bolton's house in Maryland is a step that we had not seen them take to this point," said Laura Barrón-López of MSNBC.
"It appears as though they're not going to stop with this," Barrón-López added. "They've taken actions against D.C. and they could very well take actions against other Democratic-led cities."