ABC Frames Bolton Raid As Trump’s Latest Act Of ‘Retribution’

ABC News anchor Jonathan Karl conceded that he did not know what evidence the FBI might have had prior to executing a raid on the home and office of John Bolton, who had previously served as President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser — but then proceeded to paint the law enforcement action as an act of “retribution” on Trump’s part.

“We don’t know what evidence the DOJ has against John Bolton. But we do know that he is the latest Trump critic to be targeted by his administration,” Karl said of Friday’s events.

WATCH:

“We don’t know what evidence the DOJ has against John Bolton. But we do know that he is the latest Trump critic to be targeted by his administration.” @JonKarl reports on President Trump’s promised “retribution” against political enemies. https://t.co/x5qomsiCQa pic.twitter.com/JWICYLBK0i

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 24, 2025

“In a minute, we’ll get to the stunning developments coming into the weekend with FBI agents swarming around the home and office of former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton, but first the context,” Karl said. “This didn’t happen in a vacuum.”

“John Bolton is on a long list of Trump critics who are not facing the wrath of President Trump and his Justice Department,” he continued. “Trump himself has suggested that dozens of his enemies, real and perceived, belong in prison.”

Karl went on to list a number of people Trump has said should go to prison — many of whom were named in recent documents pertaining to the Russian collusion hoax — such as former President Barack Obama and former FBI Director James Comey.

He also mentioned Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Attorney General Letitia James (D-NY), both of whom are already being investigated by DOJ attorney Ed Martin, and claimed that those investigations were also retaliatory efforts on behalf of President Trump.

Karl then complained that an outsized percentage of the high-ranking military officers who had been fired under the Trump administration had been women — a move that he said left the military without even one female active duty four-star general — but made no effort to explain why that was necessarily a bad thing.

“President Trump promised retribution against his political enemies,” Karl declared. “And there is no doubt that he is serious about keeping that promise.”

Karl then pivoted to the raid on Bolton’s home — which, according to the Justice Department, was part of an investigation into Bolton’s handling of classified information — and repeatedly suggested that it was simply more evidence that Trump was attacking and punishing his political enemies.