A federal judge on Friday criticized former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton for moving to publish his book “The Room Where it Happened” without formal clearance from the White House.
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Friday criticized former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton for moving to publish his book without formal clearance from the White House, but the judge suggested he was probably powerless to stop its release given that copies of the manuscript have already been widely distributed. U. S. District Judge Royce Lamberth told lawyers during arguments Friday that “the horse seems to be out of the barn” and wondered aloud what he could do to retrieve books already sent out “all over the country.”A lawyer for Bolton agreed with the judge and said the Justice Department’s request to halt the publication of the book and to retrieve copies was both surreal and impractical. More than 200,000 copies have already been printed and distributed to booksellers throughout the country, and the book has received substantial publicity from major news media organizations who have reviewed it ahead of its scheduled release next week. But the Justice Department bristled at the idea that nothing could be done, with Justice Department lawyer David Morrell saying that Bolton had created a “‘mess” by publishing his book without receiving what he said was formal authorization that the manuscript was free of classified information. He said Bolton should not be permitted to profit from a problem he created by flouting his contractual obligation to not disclose classified material he was exposed to while on the job.”He has flung the barnyard doors open. He has let the horses out, and now he looks at us collectively and says, ‘What are you going to do about it?'” Morrell said. U. S. District Judge Royce Lamberth did not immediately rule, saying he wants to further weigh the government’s classification arguments in a court case that raises core First Amendment and national security concerns.
