WASHINGTON, June 17: The US Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against former National Security Adviser John Bolton in order to block the publication of his upcoming book for reportedly containing highly classified information, a court document revealed.
“This is a civil action by the United States to prevent Defendant John R. Bolton, a former National Security Advisor, from compromising national security by publishing a book containing classified information – in clear breach of agreements he signed as a condition of his employment and as a condition of gaining access to highly classified information and in clear breach of the trust placed within him by the United States Government,” the court document said on Tuesday.
On Monday, President Donald Trump told reporters that it is inappropriate for Bolton to write a book – “The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir” – with classified information in it, adding that he may be breaking the law if the book gets published.
US Attorney General William Barr added that Bolton has not completed the pre-publication clearance process to remove the classified information from the book. Barr said the book contains classified information about very current events and policy issues.
Bolton, who often referred to as a neo-conservative hawk who did not find a war he did not like, was one of Trump’s confidants during his time as National Security Adviser before being abruptly fired in September 2019.
US corporate media reported earlier that Bolton’s book is set to contain records of Trump’s alleged misconduct in the Oval Office that goes beyond his dealings with Ukraine, including activities to pressure the Ukrainian government into investigating political rival Joe Biden, whose son served on the board of a large oil firm Burisma. The Ukraine issue prompted Democrats in the House of Representatives to impeach. However, the Senate acquitted Trump in February.
(AGENCIES)
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