The White House has reportedly issued a formal threat to former National Security Adviser John Bolton to keep him from publishing his book, in which he makes claims that undercut Trump’s defense in the impeachment inquiry. Bolton reportedly claims in the upcoming book, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, that Trump personally told him he wanted to withhold $391 in military aid from Ukraine until its government investigated his political rivals, namely former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. The letter, signed by Ellen Knight, senior director of the Records Management Division, is addressed to Bolton’s lawyer, Charles Cooper. Knight writes that the manuscript of Bolton’s book “appears to contain significant amounts of classified information,” some of which is “at the TOP SECRET level,” which she says could cause “grave harm to the national security” of the country without authorization. “Under federal law and the nondisclosure agreements your client has signed,” she adds, “this manuscript may not be published” as is.
President Trump has attacked Bolton and vehemently denied his assertions. “I NEVER told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens,” the president tweeted earlier this week, adding, “If John Bolton said this, it was only to sell a book.” Democrats have called for Bolton to testify in the impeachment inquiry, a demand GOP leaders have strongly resisted. The former national security adviser has said he would be willing to testify in the Senate trial if subpoenaed.
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