Judge: Bolton horse has bolted
A federal judge castigated former Trump aide John Bolton for publishing a White House memoir without formal government confirmation that it revealed no classified information but seemed doubtful he could block its imminent publication.
In a 90-minute hearing held by videoconference in Washington yesterday, US District Judge Royce Lamberth grilled the Justice Department over how he could prevent the sale of hundreds of thousands of copies of Bolton’s book, which in advance of a release this week has already been distributed around the world and heavily excerpted in the media.
The Room Where It Happened recounts Bolton’s 19 months as President Donald Trump’s top national security official and offers a withering portrait of the president as an ‘‘erratic’’ and ‘‘stunningly uninformed’’ leader. Bolton called Trump incompetent and ‘‘unfit for office’’ in promotional interviews.
‘‘The horse, as we used to say in Texas, seems to be out of the barn,’’ Lamberth said to Deputy Assistant Attorney General David Morrell. But the judge also blasted
Bolton’s lawyer for not waiting for the government to complete a prepublication review for classified information before publishing, saying Bolton ‘‘didn’t get written authority’’.
‘‘Once he invoked that process, he can’t just walk away, and he didn’t tell the government he was walking away,’’ Lamberth said.
The judge said he would rule swiftly after reviewing sealed government submissions of alleged classified secrets in Bolton’s manuscript later yesterday. Analysts predicted a split verdict in the legal and political showdown – Bolton may get to release his book but never reap the financial benefits.
The government sued Bolton seven days before the planned June 23 publication, targeting any of Bolton’s profits from the 592-page book, including a reported $2 million (NZ$3.1m) advance. The government did not sue publisher Simon & Schuster but argued in a potentially precedent-setting step for the court to enjoin Bolton, his publisher and bookstores from distribution.
‘‘Disclosure of the manuscript will damage the national security of the United States,’’ the Justice Department wrote in a 37-page emergency request on Thursday, citing declarations by four of the highest-ranking national security officials. The filing included a sealed submission alleging six examples of book passages requiring protection.
Bolton lawyer Charles Cooper said he was informed on April 27 by a White House official assigned to conduct the review, Ellen Knight, that the final version of the book did not contain classified material. At that point, Cooper argued, Bolton fulfilled his obligation to the government. But Trump and White House aides withheld a final confirmation letter.
Washington Post