Published 07:15 IST, February 23rd 2020
Trump seeks to block 'traitor' John Bolton's book over claims of classified conversations
US President Donald Trump has reportedly called John Bolton a 'traitor' and sought to block the publication of his book before the elections in November.
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US President Donald Trump has claimed that former National Security Advisor is a "traitor" and his upcoming book, which is set to be released next month, should not be published before the election in November because they are "privileged and classified". Reports have indicated that Trump made these statements to his aides. Bolton was fired from his position as the national security advisor last September.
Bolton's book contains 'classified' information
Bolton, a former ambassador to the UN, refused to testify in the House impeachment proceedings into Trump's attempts to have Ukraine investigate his political rivals which ultimately led to two articles of impeachment, concerning abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Later Bolton offered to testify when the impeachment trial had moved to the Senate but the Republicans voted not to call any more witnesses by the Democrats during a trial which duly ended in Trump’s acquittal.
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Leaks from the book The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir was proof that Bolton possessed key knowledge about Trump's interaction with Ukraine.
According to reports, the National Security Council had earlier sent a letter to Bolton's lawyer, saying that the manuscript for the book had top level classified information. In the same letter, NSC said that Bolton signed a non-disclosure agreement to get that information and the book cannot be published until the confidential information is taken out.
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Recently, Bolton began discussing his book in public. While speaking about his book at Durham University, in North Carolina. Bolton also reportedly talked about White House's attempts to censor his book.
According to reports, Bolton has been criticised for choosing to write his book rather than testify in the House of Representatives.
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According to reports, the yet unpublished book by John Bolton details how the US President ordered him to set up a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Rudy Giuliani who is his personal lawyer. Bolton in his book claims that he was ordered by Trump to contact Ukraine back in May 2019, two months before Trump made a phone call to Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky asking him to investigate Joe Biden. It was this phone call that is considered to be the trigger for the impeachment trial.
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According to local media, Trump wanted Ukraine to dig up dirt Joe Biden, one of Trump's main Democratic opponents ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Apparently, Bolton never carried out Trump's alleged orders. In addition to denying that Trump ever ordered ex-NSA John Bolton to pressure Ukraine, the White House also attempted to block Bolton's book claiming that the book contained classified information that should not be made public.
US President Donald Trump in a statement issued a blanket denial to having ever instructed former National Security Advisor John Bolton to pressure the Ukranian President.
07:15 IST, February 23rd 2020