US Court Refuses to Dismiss Trump Admin Lawsuit Seeking Bolton’s Book Proceeds

A US federal judge has declined an attempt by former national security adviser John Bolton to dismiss a lawsuit by the Trump administration that would appropriate the proceeds of his recently published tell-all book.

The US government has argued that Bolton did not follow the nondisclosure agreement he signed that gave him access to classified information, and thus forfeits the money he has made from book sales. However, Bolton claims former National Security Council records management senior director Ellen Knight gave him the go-ahead to publish the material.

However, the Trump administration previously tried unsuccessfully to have publication of Bolton’s book “The Room Where It Happened” blocked in June, arguing it contained classified information. Word of the book’s potentially sensitive contents first broke in January in the days prior to Trump’s impeachment trial, at which time the National Security Council demanded Bolton remove the classified information from the book.

Mark S. Zaid, a lawyer who specializes in national security and whistleblower cases, told the Post the ruling sets “a horrible new precedent.”

“Before this case the … Government had never pursued anyone for simply sharing a draft manuscript with lawyers, literary agents or publishers, even though by law it was improper to do so,” Zaid said. “As long as the manuscript was approved before actual publication, the US Government was satisfied. But now the rules have changed, and any dissemination can create liability.”

On September 29, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia entered a final judgment and permanent injunction against Snowden, ruling his 2019 book “Permanent Record” had violated nondisclosure agreements he had signed with both agencies by his not submitting the manuscript for prepublication review by them.

Snowden has lived in Moscow since fleeing the United States with the damning material.

Sourse: sputniknews.com