The federal judge who will decide whether to block the release of John Bolton’s book began a hearing Friday by noting the extensive reporting on its contents this week — and saying, “The horse, as we used to say in Texas, seems to be out of the barn.”
But following arguments by lawyers for the US Justice Department, Washington, DC, federal court Judge Royce Lamberth had some tough questions for Bolton’s lawyer, who had echoed the judge’s initial assessment.
Lamberth wondered aloud why President Trump’s former national security adviser turned in his manuscript to the publisher without waiting for it to be cleared by the National Security Council or else suing the government for permission to publish.
Previous rulings in similar cases, Royce said, “have all been because someone sued.”
“Once he invoked that [review] process, he can’t just walk away. And he didn’t tell the government he was just walking away. He just walked away. And told the publisher, ‘Go publish.’ Isn’t that what happened?” Lamberth said.
“Now he says, ‘Too bad, government, we published it, there’s nothing you can do.'”
Bolton lawyer Charles Cooper contended that Bolton “had no obligation to tell the government” and had made changes to his manuscript in response to concerns raised during an initial, “legitimate” review by National Security Council aide Ellen Knight.
But Cooper said another, “political” review was undertaken by NSC official Michael Ellis, and he also said the Justice Department’s demand that Bolton pull back the book was something he’s “utterly powerless to do.”
“This isn’t really a judicial proceeding,” Cooper said.
“It’s using your courtroom as a stage and to enlist you as a player.”
Cooper also noted the recent spectacle of a White House reporter “ostentatiously holding the book and asking questions of the press secretary while reading from the book.”
In response to a question from Lamberth, Cooper said that Bolton gave his manuscript to publisher Simon & Schuster no later than April 27, leading Assistant US Attorney David Morrell to note that Bolton was told on May 7 that a review to see if it contained classified material was still ongoing.
Morrell also referred to Cooper’s “barnyard metaphor” as “hogwash.”
Bolton, he said, “has swung the barn door open, let the horse out and now looks at us and says, ‘What are you going to do about it?”
Earlier, Morrell said Bolton “egregiously breached his obligation” to not publish anything about his government work without having it vetted first.
Bolton signed agreements before joining President Trump’s administration and again when he left less than a year ago, Morrell said.
Morrell called Bolton’s actions “totally and completely unacceptable” and asked Royce to order that he “make every effort to claw the book back to avoid the unauthorized disclosure of classified information.”