- President Donald Trump wants to block John Bolton, his former national security adviser from publishing a book that could reveal potential wrongdoing, The Washington Post reported.
- Trump claims Bolton's tell-all memoir of his time in the Trump administration contains classified information.
- The book is still under review by the National Security Council but has an anticipated release date of March 17, 2020.
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President Donald Trump told his staff he will work to block former national security advisor John Bolton's tell-all memoir, which is set to be released next month, The Washington Post reported, citing two sources.
In these exchanges, Trump called Bolton "a traitor" and said that all the conversations they had were classified, according to The Post. The White House did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The National Security Council previously sent a letter to Bolton's lawyer, saying that the manuscript for the book, "The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir," had top level classified information in it.
In the same letter sent to Boltons lawyer, NSC official Ellen Knight said that Bolton signed a non-disclosure agreement to get that information and he can not publish the book until he takes out the confidential information.
The NSC is currently reviewing the manuscript and has said it will help Bolton revise the manuscript as quickly as possible, The Post reported.
Business Insider previously reported that Bolton's book claimed that Trump did in fact tie Ukraine's military aid with their willingness to help him get dirt on political rivals, including Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.
That Ukraine issue was at the center of Trump's impeachment. The New York Times, citing sources that had seen the manuscript, published a report about the book's claims about Trump and the Ukraine aid during the Senate impeachment trial, adding pressure to have Bolton testify. Senate Republicans blocked witnesses, and the Senate voted to acquit Trump. The president has maintained that he did nothing wrong.
"We're going to try and block the publication of the book. After I leave office, he can do this. But not in the White House, " Trump allegedly said during an off the record lunch with national television anchors earlier this month.
According to The Post, if Bolton were to publish the book, which he's already received a seven-figure advance from the publisher for, prior to a final approval from the National Security Board, he could face legal trouble.
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