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Trump confirms suit to block Bolton book sale, says former national security adviser broke the law

The book is set for release next week

Published: June 15, 2020 4:05pm

Updated: June 15, 2020 5:00pm

President Trump confirmed Monday that his administration plans to file a suit to block the sale of a book by former national security adviser John Bolton.

"He's broken the law," Trump told reporters at the White House. "They'll soon be in court."

Trump said details in the book could include "highly classified information" and suggested that any attempts to publish such a book without it being completely vetted was “highly inappropriate.”

"Maybe he’s not telling the truth," the president also said. "He’s been known not to tell the truth, a lot.”

Attorney General William Barr said there is a process for clearing books written by former officials that White House officials don’t believe Bolton has completed.

“He hasn’t completed the process,” said Barr, who also said such a book being published while the related president remains in office is “unprecedented.” 

The book is set to go on sale in about a week.

The Trump administration is expected to file the suit in federal court to get an injunction to block the book from being released in its current form, according to ABC News.

Bolton, who departed the Trump administration last fall, was originally supposed to publish his book, “The Room Where It Happened,” earlier this year, but it was met with delays from the White House as the book went through a standard pre-publication security review for classified information by the National Security Council, according to the news network.

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