Washington: President Donald Trump called his one-time national security advisor John Bolton’s forthcoming book “highly inappropriate” on Monday and said it would be a “criminal problem” if the book published.
The president, who has also said he hasn’t read the memoir, told reporters in the cabinet room, “If he wrote a book, I can’t imagine that he can because that’s highly classified information.”
“I will consider every conversation with me as president highly classified. So that would mean that if he wrote a book and if the book gets out, he’s broken the law and I would think he would have criminal problems. I hope so.” the president continued, saying Bolton will face “criminal liability.”
“They’ll soon be in court,” Trump added, appearing to confirm reports that his administration will file a lawsuit in court seeking an injunction against the publication.
NEW: Pres. Trump claims John Bolton would be breaking federal law if his book is published in its current form.
"I would think that he would have criminal problems. I would hope so.” https://t.co/xmcAcV1qEg pic.twitter.com/dFQQ4jaErG
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) June 15, 2020
The publication of the book has been delayed for several months due to the classification review process lead by the White House National Security Council.
Barr, also speaking to reporters on Monday, said the Justice Department doesn’t believe Bolton has completed the clearance process and failed to “make the necessary deletions of classified information.”
Administration officials with access to sensitive information typically signing non-disclosure agreements before they can publish books.
“We don’t believe that Bolton went through that process — hasn’t completed the process — and, therefore, is in violation of that agreement,” Barr said.
Bolton’s attorney, Chuck Cooper, said his client has worked with classification specialists at the NSC to avoid revealing classified material.
Bolton, national security advisor from April 2018 until September, was a central figure in the Senate impeachment trial of Trump earlier this year following the House’s decision to forward two charges to the Senate for consideration: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Democrats pushed for Bolton to testify before the Senate but ultimately lost that effort when Trump was acquitted without new witnesses being called.
A manuscript of Bolton’s book was leaked around the time of the Senate’s impeachment trial, and the reported claim contradicted the president who has insisted the decision to delay the aid to Ukraine was rooted in concerns about corruption, not politics.
Simon & Schuster, which is publishing Bolton’s book, said in a release the novel will describe a president consumed with winning a second term.
“I am hard-pressed to identify any significant Trump decision during my tenure that wasn’t driven by reelection calculations,” Bolton writes in the book, according to the publisher.
Steve Lopez is the Editorial Page Editor for News Raise. He covers Health. He has won more than a dozen national journalism awards for his reporting and column writing at seven newspapers and four news magazines.
