Publisher speeds up release of Trump book

WASHINGTON — In an extraordinary step for a sitting president, Donald Trump had his lawyer demand Thursday that Henry Holt and Co. and author Michael Wolff stop publication of a soon-to-be-released book about the chaotic first year of Trump’s presidency.

Instead, the publisher expedited the book’s release to today, four days before it was slated to hit bookstores, in response to “unprecedented demand.” Published excerpts on Wednesday and Thursday whetted that appetite and roiled Washington.

In the letter on Trump’s behalf, lawyer Charles J. Harder demanded that the author and publishing house “cease and desist from any further publication, release or dissemination” of the book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.”

The publisher said in a news release, “We see ‘Fire and Fury’ as an extraordinary contribution to our national discourse, and are proceeding with the publication of the book.”

The book includes stunning criticisms of Trump and his circle from a number of aides, including most prominently former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.

Trump’s lawyers also sent a cease-and-desist letter to Bannon saying he had made “disparaging” and “outright defamatory” statements about Trump and Trump’s family to Wolff, violating a non-disclosure agreement Bannon had signed when he worked for Trump’s campaign. Any such agreement would not likely extend to Bannon’s subsequent White House employment.