Bolton's new Book (1 Viewer)

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    TaylorB

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    By Taylor Bassett - Staff Writer |1588967955253.png @bassett_taylor | MadAboutPolitics.com

    Yesterday, the DOJ filed a civil lawsuit seeking an injunction to prevent former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton from releasing his tell-all book, The Room Where It Happened (my apologies to Lin-Manuel Miranda for even typing that title out). Here is the lawsuit:




    The crux of the DOJ's complaint is that by distributing the book now, Bolton is side-stepping a review process by the National Security Council, which was conducting a pre-publication review of the book to protect against disclosure of classified information Bolton possesses as a result of his employment with the government. In addition to the injunction, the lawsuit seeks to have the court declare that Bolton is in violation of agreements he entered into with the government as a condition of his employment.

    The Barr-Bolton dispute touches on some interesting issues.

    First, unless you've been living under a rock, you'll recall Bolton's connection to the dramatic conclusion to the Trump-Ukraine impeachment saga. During the Senate trial, Bolton expressed willingness to testify to some of the issues raised in the House investigation. There was debate on this board about whether Bolton would specifically connect Trump's withholding of aid to investigations helpful to his re-election:
    Bolton's book is expected to shed light on information related to the Trump-Ukraine scandal, which is potentially damaging to Trump and the Senate Republicans who voted against calling witnesses in the trial, including Bolton.

    Bolton's book is also expected to touch on Trump's relationship with Turkey's Recep Erdogan:
    As noted in the twitter thread in my linked post, Bill Barr has tried to use the DOJ to prevent prosecutors from the Southern District of New York from indicting the Turkish Halkbank, which according to Bolton's book, was part of a personal favor from Trump to Erdogan. And as I noted in my prior post, Trump's efforts with Erdogan bring to mind the United States' sudden withdrawal from our position alongside the Kurds in Syria after a Trump-Erdogan phone call. We don't yet fully understand what is behind this Trump-Erdogan courtship, but we do know from the recently revealed Roger Stone search warrants that there's been an investigation into Turkey's involvement in Trump's 2016 election; we also know that Trump has properties in Istanbul, and that Trump's national security transition officials Michael Flynn and Bijan Kian were secretly lobbying on behalf of Turkey during the election.

    Bolton's perspective on Trump's opaque foreign policy maneuvers is certain to raise even more questions about what motivates Trump. Reportedly, Bolton's book claims that Trump's decisions are strictly motivated by his reelection chances:


    This could gain increased significance as we approach November 2020, especially if we see the Trump administration making foreign policy decisions favoring the countries alleged to have offered election assistance in 2016, including Russia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Turkey. Or if we see favorable policies directed at the countries who we believe support his reelection in 2020, which reportedly includes China, and almost certainly includes the aforementioned countries. Is our foreign policy being "sold" to help increase Trump's reelection chances? That is, after all, what impeachment was about: Trump withholding aid to Ukraine, an ally, to the benefit of Russia, an enemy, to improve his reelection odds. If the thesis of Bolton's book is that Trump's modus operandi is to make foreign policy decisions to benefit himself above anything else, that thesis appears to be corroborated by a great deal of public information.

    More broadly, the Barr-Bolton dispute demonstrates the consequences of the damage that Barr and Trump have already done to the rule of law. Anyone who recognizes the ways Bill Barr uses the DOJ as cover to act as Trump's personal attorney is likely to think Barr's lawsuit is simply doing more of the same by claiming the NSC needs "more time" to review Bolton's book for classified information. Trump and his associates have time and again used dubious claims of "executive privilege" and "absolute immunity" to avoid dissemination of information that is politically harmful to him -- why wouldn't they claim Bolton's book risks publishing classified information in order to delay or prevent its release?

    To be clear, when a former high-level official wants to disclose potentially sensitive information, especially for strictly personal gain, I expect that most of us want the government to have some input as to the dissemination of any material potentially considered as classified. But we also want to be confident that the government is being honest about the review process, and what it considers to be classified. There is simply no reason for anyone to believe Trump or Barr when it comes to the dissemination of Bolton's book. So Barr's use of the DOJ as nothing more than a political weapon has caused irreparable damage to the institution, and therefore, to the rule of law, because it has lost credibility in the eyes of the American public -- at least, to an increasing majority of us.

    My guess is that the next few weeks will resemble prior sagas involving former members of Trump's inner-circle who decide to flip on Trump. The anti-Trump crowd will favor Bolton's credibility over Trump/Barr's, which I believe more likely relate to the general distrust of Trump/Barr versus any particularly favorable views about Bolton. The pro-Trump crowd will favor Trump/Barr's credibility, and will point out the irony of leftists believing Bolton -- someone the left historically despises. And I suspect that a majority of people would agree that Bolton looks slimy for promoting his book instead of speaking up at a crucial moment in history.

    It is hard to analyze the Barr suit from a legal standpoint, because at the end of the day, the framing of the case boils down to credibility. If you believe Trump/Barr, then you likely view the DOJ suit against Bolton as an important attempt to protect our national security interests. If you don't believe Trump/Barr and view the suit as a pretext for political cover, then you likely think it's a "prior restraint" in violation of the 1st Amendment.

    With all of that in mind, I don't give the DOJ suit much of a chance to stop the Bolton book from coming out, and even if there's a delay, I expect it will be out before the election. I hope it comes out, assuming I am correct that the "classified information" dispute is just another Bill Barr Special. I won't be buying it either way, but I certainly want to know what else Trump and Barr so badly don't want us to know about.
     
    Last edited:
    I have very little respect for Bolton and others like him

    Trump maybe a dangerous melagomaniac, but those who enable him are worse. They know what they do are wrong and yet for many personal reason they continue to support his actions.

    I didn't like Bolton before Trump named him NSA and thought he would influence Trump in a very negative way. I was actually surprised that he wasn't able to wield more influence. The fact that Bolton knew how Trump was acting and held off saying anything until he could profit from it says volumes to me about his character.
     
    1588961417174.png
    By Taylor Bassett - Staff Writer |1588967955253.png @bassett_taylor | MadAboutPolitics.com

    Yesterday, the DOJ filed a civil lawsuit seeking an injunction to prevent former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton from releasing his tell-all book, The Room Where It Happened (my apologies to Lin-Manuel Miranda for even typing that title out). Here is the lawsuit:




    The crux of the DOJ's complaint is that by distributing the book now, Bolton is side-stepping a review process by the National Security Council, which was conducting a pre-publication review of the book to protect against disclosure of classified information Bolton possesses as a result of his employment with the government. In addition to the injunction, the lawsuit seeks to have the court declare that Bolton is in violation of agreements he entered into with the government as a condition of his employment.

    The Barr-Bolton dispute touches on some interesting issues.

    First, unless you've been living under a rock, you'll recall Bolton's connection to the dramatic conclusion to the Trump-Ukraine impeachment saga. During the Senate trial, Bolton expressed willingness to testify to some of the issues raised in the House investigation. There was debate on this board about whether Bolton would specifically connect Trump's withholding of aid to investigations helpful to his re-election:
    Bolton's book is expected to shed light on information related to the Trump-Ukraine scandal, which is potentially damaging to Trump and the Senate Republicans who voted against calling witnesses in the trial, including Bolton.

    Bolton's book is also expected to touch on Trump's relationship with Turkey's Recep Erdogan:
    As noted in the twitter thread in my linked post, Bill Barr has tried to use the DOJ to prevent prosecutors from the Southern District of New York from indicting the Turkish Halkbank, which according to Bolton's book, was part of a personal favor from Trump to Erdogan. And as I noted in my prior post, Trump's efforts with Erdogan bring to mind the United States' sudden withdrawal from our position alongside the Kurds in Syria after a Trump-Erdogan phone call. We don't yet fully understand what is behind this Trump-Erdogan courtship, but we do know from the recently revealed Roger Stone search warrants that there's been an investigation into Turkey's involvement in Trump's 2016 election; we also know that Trump has properties in Istanbul, and that Trump's national security transition officials Michael Flynn and Bijan Kian were secretly lobbying on behalf of Turkey during the election.

    Bolton's perspective on Trump's opaque foreign policy maneuvers is certain to raise even more questions about what motivates Trump. Reportedly, Bolton's book claims that Trump's decisions are strictly motivated by his reelection chances:


    This could gain increased significance as we approach November 2020, especially if we see the Trump administration making foreign policy decisions favoring the countries alleged to have offered election assistance in 2016, including Russia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Turkey. Or if we see favorable policies directed at the countries who we believe support his reelection in 2020, which reportedly includes China, and almost certainly includes the aforementioned countries. Is our foreign policy being "sold" to help increase Trump's reelection chances? That is, after all, what impeachment was about: Trump withholding aid to Ukraine, an ally, to the benefit of Russia, an enemy, to improve his reelection odds. If the thesis of Bolton's book is that Trump's modus operandi is to make foreign policy decisions to benefit himself above anything else, that thesis appears to be corroborated by a great deal of public information.

    More broadly, the Barr-Bolton dispute demonstrates the consequences of the damage that Barr and Trump have already done to the rule of law. Anyone who recognizes the ways Bill Barr uses the DOJ as cover to act as Trump's personal attorney is likely to think Barr's lawsuit is simply doing more of the same by claiming the NSC needs "more time" to review Bolton's book for classified information. Trump and his associates have time and again used dubious claims of "executive privilege" and "absolute immunity" to avoid dissemination of information that is politically harmful to him -- why wouldn't they claim Bolton's book risks publishing classified information in order to delay or prevent its release?

    To be clear, when a former high-level official wants to disclose potentially sensitive information, especially for strictly personal gain, I expect that most of us want the government to have some input as to the dissemination of any material potentially considered as classified. But we also want to be confident that the government is being honest about the review process, and what it considers to be classified. There is simply no reason for anyone to believe Trump or Barr when it comes to the dissemination of Bolton's book. So Barr's use of the DOJ as nothing more than a political weapon has caused irreparable damage to the institution, and therefore, to the rule of law, because it has lost credibility in the eyes of the American public -- at least, to an increasing majority of us.

    My guess is that the next few weeks will resemble prior sagas involving former members of Trump's inner-circle who decide to flip on Trump. The anti-Trump crowd will favor Bolton's credibility over Trump/Barr's, which I believe more likely relate to the general distrust of Trump/Barr versus any particularly favorable views about Bolton. The pro-Trump crowd will favor Trump/Barr's credibility, and will point out the irony of leftists believing Bolton -- someone the left historically despises. And I suspect that a majority of people would agree that Bolton looks slimy for promoting his book instead of speaking up at a crucial moment in history.

    It is hard to analyze the Barr suit from a legal standpoint, because at the end of the day, the framing of the case boils down to credibility. If you believe Trump/Barr, then you likely view the DOJ suit against Bolton as an important attempt to protect our national security interests. If you don't believe Trump/Barr and view the suit as a pretext for political cover, then you likely think it's a "prior restraint" in violation of the 1st Amendment.

    With all of that in mind, I don't give the DOJ suit much of a chance to stop the Bolton book from coming out, and even if there's a delay, I expect it will be out before the election. I hope it comes out, assuming I am correct that the "classified information" dispute is just another Bill Barr Special. I won't be buying it either way, but I certainly want to know what else Trump and Barr so badly don't want us to know about.


    I believe Bolton.. .. and I think the Republican elite does as well. Bolton's view fits with everything we know about Trump ignorance.

    Trump saw Venezuela as ‘part of the U.S.’, and thought of invasion, but backtracked because of Putin, claims Bolton
    U.S. President Donald Trump thought it would be “cool” to invade Venezuela but was persuaded not to by “Soviet-style
     
    I didn't like Bolton before Trump named him NSA and thought he would influence Trump in a very negative way. I was actually surprised that he wasn't able to wield more influence. The fact that Bolton knew how Trump was acting and held off saying anything until he could profit from it says volumes to me about his character.

    This here. Bolton should have said said something when it mattered to the country, not his pocketbook.

    However, how he categorizes Trump tracks with what we've heard from other former high level officials.

    I don't have to like the guy to believe he's (mostly*) telling the truth.


    *it's a book, so there's always room for some embellishment
     
    This here. Bolton should have said said something when it mattered to the country, not his pocketbook.

    However, how he categorizes Trump tracks with what we've heard from other former high level officials.

    I don't have to like the guy to believe he's (mostly*) telling the truth.


    *it's a book, so there's always room for some embellishment
    So, not to really defend Bolton here... But it didn't really matter what he said prior to now because there's no way in hell it would have impacted Trump being removed from office.. and I'm sure Bolton knew there was no chance that the Senate would vote to convict on impeachment.

    Hey, it's out there now and he didn't cost himself the money. I get it, honestly, even if it wasn't remotely honorable.
     
    So, not to really defend Bolton here... But it didn't really matter what he said prior to now because there's no way in hell it would have impacted Trump being removed from office.. and I'm sure Bolton knew there was no chance that the Senate would vote to convict on impeachment.

    Hey, it's out there now and he didn't cost himself the money. I get it, honestly, even if it wasn't remotely honorable.

    That's fair.

    But it does get back to my question about the contextual difference between a news source that provides classified documents to a news publisher as compared to a book publisher that pays millions of dollars to an ex-official for memoirs that relate to classified material.

    If the ex-official's handling of the information violates rules or law designed to keep that material from being public, it does seem to me to be fair to argue that the for-profit publisher is "acting in concert" with the ex-official (paid handsomely) to publish the material.
     
    So from what I’ve heard Bolton’s big bombshell was that Trump didn’t want to go to war with Iran over the drone that was shot down because he didn’t think it would be proportional. Well I guess I shouldn’t even go vote now because that seals it for Biden.
    Tony, I didn't see that being in the book, but I would tend to side with Trump on not going to war with Iran over a drone being shot down, if that's something Bolton discussed. Bolton is an Iran hawk and I am glad he is out of Trump's ear, even if he were reasonable on other issues (I'm not necessarily saying he was).

    What did you think of Trump's interactions with President Xi? A lot of people think that if Bolton is telling the truth, then Trump doesn't look like the China hawk he holds himself out to be, and that Trump approving of Xi's concentration camps was antithetical to our country's values. Also it looks like Trump took favorable views on their anti-democratic crackdowns in Hong Kong to try to win favor with Xi for reelection purposes. Regardless of Trump's intentions, I feel like he looks really weak with Xi, like when he begged him for election help. What did you think about the China allegations overall?
     
    Curious times we live in.

    Just a couple years ago, the right loved John Bolton and the left despised him. Now it's a complete 180.
     
    Curious times we live in.

    Just a couple years ago, the right loved John Bolton and the left despised him. Now it's a complete 180.

    I don’t think you really mean that, or maybe you just want to believe it. I think most everyone on the left is repulsed by both Trump and Bolton.

    But only Trump is still in a position to hurt America, and is known to be a huge liar. Bolton may be a war hawk neocon, but he’s not generally thought of as a liar.
     
    @JimEverett - your instincts probably better than mine. Seems like there are supprted arguments by the administration. But also if the book is out there, if can’t be clawed back no matter how allegedly strong the government interest is.

    Thread

    I do not really understand the review procedure. But it seems like DOJ should have done something months ago when they knew Bolton was writing a book. Maybe they did something, and/or maybe there was really nothing they could do, although that seems unlikely. It almost looks like they want this fight? Why else the delay in doing something?

    From a purely political perspective, this looks really bad for the President, imo.
     
    What exactly is this going to accomplish now? The cats already out of the bag. The information is out, that's the most damaging part?

    On Bolten, I won't be buying the book. I doubt anything he says in it would surprise me about Trump since I already know who the guy is. I can read the most salacious stuff in media reports.

    If he really cared about America, he would have said something when it actually mattered most. But that goes of the whole of this administration and their all of their Republican coharts.
     
    So, if the book is full of nothing but lies as Trump tweeted out this morning, there can't possibly be anything in the book that would prevent it from being released, right? He could then just sue Bolton for slander (or is it libel? I always get them confused...) because of all of the "lies" he published about Trump, right?
     
    The request to ask Xi for help as well as supporting his concentration camps for the Uighurs is quite damning. I mean, that's another level of heinous. I definitely believe the former, because he's done it before. As for the latter, I believe it to be the case, as well, as a matter of political expediency. Tell Xi what he wants to hear - but it's still a helluva thing to say as anyone, much less POTUS
     

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