The Justice Department is considering filing criminal charges against former National Security Adviser John Bolton over his soon-to-be-released White House tell-all, the LA Times reported on Wednesday. The newspaper also reported that the Justice Department was expected to file for a temporary restraining order on Wednesday against Bolton and his publisher, Simon & Schuster.
The report suggests the Justice Department may be willing to go to the mat in support of the idea that the government has broad discretion to prevent damaging or embarrassing information from going to press.
Prosecutors are reportedly deciding whether to charge Bolton with illegally disclosing classified information, as the Trump administration scrambles to contain politically damaging – and already released – revelations from the book.
Multiple newspapers published lengthy accounts of material in the book on Wednesday, one day after the Justice Department sued Bolton for breach of contract in a bid to stop the book from being published.
But filing criminal charges against the notoriously hawkish former National Security Adviser would mark an incredibly damaging and vindictive step for the Justice Department, which has already spent the past few months pushing the scales to benefit political allies of President Trump’s.
It’s not clear how far that would go, given that the book has already been partly published in excerpted newspaper stories and book reviews, and that the galleys for the memoir have already been shipped.
“The Justice Department is considering filing criminal charges against former National Security Adviser John Bolton over his soon-to-be-released White House tell-all,”
Sure they are. Trump is in a rage and putting the screws to Barr demanding they take care of Bolton. I guess the threat to sue Bolton didn’t do the trick? What a crock of shit.
The government should not be allowed to block “embarrassing” information. That is complete horse hockey.
Bolton better be careful passing open windows.
That is the right, thing to do throw the traitor in jail and prevent him for making any money, I don’t care what BS legal argument they use. The book will probably leak anyway, but Judas Bolton should not be allowed to collect his 30 silver pieces.
“The report suggests the Justice Department may be willing to go to the mat in support of the idea that the government has broad discretion to prevent damaging or embarrassing information from going to press.”
Up next, hotel balconies and their unseen dangers?