Bolton's Actions: Legal Or Illegal?

In June 2020, the Trump administration sued former National Security Advisor John Bolton, seeking to block the publication of his memoir, 'The Room Where It Happened'. The memoir, which details Bolton's 17 months as Trump's National Security Advisor, contains descriptions of Trump's conversations with foreign leaders, including an allegation that Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to help his re-election prospects. The Justice Department argued that the book contained classified information and that Bolton had failed to complete a pre-publication review process required for former government officials with access to sensitive information. Bolton's lawyer denied that the manuscript contained any legitimately classified information.

Did Bolton break the law with classified information?

John Bolton, former US National Security Advisor, was accused by the Trump administration of breaking the law by publishing a memoir that contained classified information. The memoir, titled "The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir", was published in 2020 and details Bolton's 17 months as Trump's national security advisor. It contains descriptions of Trump's conversations with foreign leaders and foreign affairs and national security issues that arose during Bolton's tenure.

The Trump administration filed a lawsuit against Bolton, arguing that he failed to complete a required pre-publication review and that the book contained classified information. The Justice Department asked a judge to halt the publication of the book and to seize any proceeds from its sale. They argued that Bolton had signed agreements with the government, as a condition of receiving his security clearance, to not disclose classified information and to complete a pre-publication review process.

Bolton's lawyer, Charles Cooper, denied that the manuscript contained any legitimately classified information. He stated that Bolton had worked closely with Ellen Knight, the National Security Council's senior director for prepublication review, and that she had determined that the book was free of classified material. However, the White House never sent a formal, written authorization that the book had been cleared, and senior political appointees later intervened to say they had new concerns.

The judge, Royce Lamberth, allowed the lawsuit to proceed, stating that the Justice Department had reasonably shown that Bolton disclosed classified information without first confirming that it was unclassified. Lamberth also noted that Bolton had moved ahead with the book's publication without waiting for formal clearance.

The outcome of the lawsuit is unclear, but legal specialists argued that the 11th-hour effort to block the book's publication was unlikely to succeed for both practical and constitutional reasons. The Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment protects press freedoms, making it rarely constitutional for the government to try to stop a work from being published. Additionally, thousands of copies of the book had already been distributed, and its contents had been reported in the news.

Did Bolton break the law by publishing his book?

John Bolton, former US National Security Adviser to President Donald Trump, published a book in 2020 titled 'The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir'. The book provides an insider account of Trump's time in office, including his dealings with foreign leaders and his decision-making process.

Bolton's book attracted controversy due to allegations that it contained classified information. President Trump accused Bolton of breaking the law by publishing the book without completing the necessary clearance process for former government officials with access to sensitive information. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Bolton, seeking to block the book's publication and seize any proceeds, arguing that it contained classified information related to national security.

In response, Bolton's lawyer, Charles Cooper, denied the presence of any legitimately classified information in the book. He stated that Bolton had worked closely with Ellen Knight, the National Security Council's senior director for prepublication review, and that she had determined the book was free of classified material. However, the White House intervened, conducting a second review that identified additional classified information.

The judge overseeing the lawsuit, Royce Lamberth, allowed the case to proceed, stating that the Justice Department had reasonably argued that Bolton disclosed classified information without confirmation that it was unclassified. However, he denied the government's initial request for an injunction to block the book's publication, as it had already been distributed at that point.

The question of whether Bolton broke the law by publishing his book remains a subject of legal debate, with some legal specialists arguing that the government's efforts to block the book were unlikely to succeed due to constitutional protections for press freedoms. The outcome of the lawsuit will depend on the court's interpretation of the relevant laws and the classification status of the information in the book.

Did Bolton break the law by not completing a clearing process?

John Bolton, former US National Security Advisor, was accused by the Trump administration of breaking the law by publishing a memoir of his time in the White House. The memoir, titled 'The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir', was published in 2020 and contained details of Trump's conversations with foreign leaders, as well as national security and foreign affairs issues.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Bolton, accusing him of failing to complete a required pre-publication review and disclosing classified information. The review process is mandatory for former government officials who had access to sensitive information. Bolton's lawyer, Charles Cooper, denied that the manuscript contained any legitimately classified information.

A federal judge, Royce Lamberth, initially denied the government's request for an injunction to block the book's publication, as thousands of copies had already been distributed. However, the judge also scolded Bolton for publishing the book without waiting for formal, written authorization.

In his defence, Bolton stated that he had worked closely with Ellen Knight, the National Security Council's senior director for prepublication review, and that she had concluded the review in April, determining that the book was free of classified material. However, the White House never sent a letter confirming that the prepublication review process was complete, and instead, senior political appointees intervened to express new concerns. Bolton's lawyer called these complaints "a transparent attempt to use national security as a pretext to censor Mr. Bolton, in violation of his constitutional right to speak on matters of the utmost public import."

Did Bolton break the law by not receiving written clearance?

In June 2020, the Trump administration sued John Bolton, claiming that he had not completed the prepublication review process for his book, 'The Room Where It Happened'. This process is required for all current or former security clearance holders who wish to publish material that addresses their experience while working with the agency, what they observed, and anything else tied to their official duties that could expose government secrets.

Bolton's book, which was set to be released on June 23, 2020, detailed Trump's dealings with China, Russia, Ukraine, North Korea, Iran, Britain, France, and Germany. It also included embarrassing claims about Trump, such as that he thought Finland was part of Russia and did not know the UK was a nuclear power.

Bolton submitted the book for security review in December 2019 and was told in April 2020 by Ellen Knight, the National Security Council's senior director for prepublication review, that no other classification issues remained. However, the White House did not provide Bolton with written notice to proceed with publication, and another NSC official was asked to review the manuscript in May 2020.

On June 17, 2020, the Justice Department asked a federal judge to block the publication of the book, which had already been printed, bound, and shipped to distribution warehouses. The Justice Department provided six examples of what it asserted were classified items that remained in the book.

On June 19, 2020, federal judge Royce Lamberth castigated Bolton for proceeding to publish his book without formal clearance but ruled that publication of the book could proceed. Lamberth said that the case would continue and that Bolton "gambled with the national security of the United States" and that "he has exposed his country to harm and himself to civil (and potentially criminal) liability."

Bolton's attorney asserted that the White House was slow-walking the review process to prevent the book, which contained extensive harsh criticism of Trump, from being released during the 2020 election campaign. Trump himself claimed that the book contained "highly classified" information but also characterized it as "pure fiction."

On June 21, 2020, a pirated copy of the book appeared online, and it was officially released on June 23, 2020. Later that summer, the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into whether the book revealed classified information.

In conclusion, while Bolton may have broken the law by publishing his book without receiving written clearance, this remains a matter of legal debate and the ultimate outcome of the Justice Department's investigation is unclear.

Did Bolton break the law by disclosing classified information?

John Bolton, former US National Security Advisor, released a book in 2020 titled 'The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir' which details his time in the Trump administration. The memoir includes accounts of President Donald Trump's conversations with foreign leaders, foreign affairs, and national security issues.

Trump accused Bolton of breaking the law by disclosing classified information in the book, stating that he considered "every conversation with [him] as president highly classified". The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Bolton, alleging that he failed to complete a pre-publication review and that the book contained classified information.

Bolton's lawyer, Charles Cooper, denied that the manuscript contained any legitimately classified information. He stated that Bolton had worked closely with Ellen Knight, the National Security Council's senior director for pre-publication review, and that Knight had determined the book was free of classified material. However, the White House never sent a letter confirming that the review process was complete, and instead, senior political appointees intervened to express new concerns.

US District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled that the Justice Department's lawsuit against Bolton could proceed, stating that the department had reasonably shown that Bolton disclosed classified information without first confirming that it was unclassified. The judge's decision cleared the way for the government's efforts to seize proceeds from the book.

The publication of Bolton's book and the subsequent lawsuit highlight the ongoing debate over the protection of free speech and national security interests.

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