US

Judge declines to block John Bolton’s tell-all Trump book

White House sought restraining order on former national security adviser’s memoir

Former chief of staff John Kelly whispers to former national security adviser John Bolton outside the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, April 30, 2018. Photograph: Tom Brenner/The New York Times

Martin Pengelly
Sat Jun 20 2020 - 16:34

A federal judge has declined to block the publication of a tell-all book by John Bolton, Donald Trump’s third national security adviser.

Judge Royce C Lamberth on Saturday denied the Trump administration’s request for a restraining order. The Room Where It Happened is due to be published on Tuesday.

As Judge Lamberth noted, hundreds of thousands of copies have been shipped for sale. But the judge did say it appeared Mr Bolton had failed to complete a national security review.

“While Bolton’s unilateral conduct raises grave national security concerns,” the US district court judge wrote, “the government has not established that an injunction is an appropriate remedy.”

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Mr Bolton was national security adviser between April 2018 and September 2019, when he resigned.

Published excerpts from his book have proved highly embarrassing to Mr Trump, revelations including what Mr Bolton says is impeachable conduct in seeking re-election help from foreign countries and the president’s ignorance of basic geopolitical realities.

Critics of Mr Bolton point to his refusal to comply with a House subpoena in impeachment proceedings against Mr Trump, which concerned his attempts to have Ukraine find dirt on a political rival.

Mr Bolton said he would be willing to testify in Mr Trump’s Senate trial but Republicans controlling the upper chamber did not call extra witnesses before acquitting the president.– Guardian News and Media

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