White House cites secrecy laws, bars Bolton book release

Mr John Bolton's book contains "significant amounts of classified information", according to the National Security Council.
Mr John Bolton's book contains "significant amounts of classified information", according to the National Security Council.

WASHINGTON • The White House has told former national security adviser John Bolton that a book reportedly containing damaging evidence about President Donald Trump cannot be published because it breaks secrecy laws.

The warning was made in a letter to Mr Bolton's lawyer dated Jan 23 but only made public on Wednesday as Mr Trump's impeachment trial intensified in the Senate.

The National Security Council (NSC) said after a preliminary review of the manuscript - a vetting process applied to any White House employee writing books - that it contained "significant amounts of classified information".

"Some of this information is at the TOP SECRET level," the NSC said in a letter to Mr Bolton's lawyer Charles Cooper, adding that "the manuscript may not be published or otherwise disclosed without the deletion of this classified information".

Democrats are pressing for the Senate to subpoena Mr Bolton after reports that his upcoming White House memoir, The Room Where It Happened, corroborates the abuse-of-power impeachment charge against Mr Trump.

Mr Bolton reportedly writes that the President personally told him in August that a freeze in military aid to Ukraine was directly linked to Mr Trump's demand that Kiev announce investigations into Mr Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential front runner.

Several hours before the NSC letter went public, Mr Trump lashed out at Mr Bolton on Twitter, saying he had written a "nasty & untrue book. All Classified National Security".

Despite the formal review process of the book, drafts have already circulated around Washington, where the passages describing Mr Trump's relationship with Ukraine caused a sensation.

At a news conference last week in Davos, Switzerland, Mr Trump indicated he was worried about Mr Bolton, who left his post last year.

He said the veteran foreign policy adviser "knows some of my thoughts'', adding: " What happens if he reveals what I think about a certain leader and it's not very positive?"

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 31, 2020, with the headline White House cites secrecy laws, bars Bolton book release. Subscribe