The DOJ has closed its criminal investigation into Trump's former national security advisor John Bolton over his explosive book
By Sonam Sheth
The Justice Department has shuttered its criminal investigation into whether former national security advisor John Bolton revealed classified information in his memoir, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
The department under the Trump administration sued Bolton last year alleging that he breached his contract and that the book contained classified information and could hurt US national security.
A federal judge struck down the Trump administration's last-ditch effort to block the book last June, clearing the way for its release.
The Times on Wednesday reported that the Justice Department, now run by Attorney General Merrick Garland, has officially dropped its lawsuit against Bolton which aimed to recover profits the former national security advisor earned from the book.
The memoir sent shockwaves through the political sphere and contained a slew of explosive claims about Trump and those around him, including that Trump wanted to "give personal favors to dictators he liked"; that he had a poor command of national security and foreign policy issues; that he wanted to serve more than two terms as president; that he supported the Chinese government's concentration camps for Uighur Muslims; and that he paid little attention during intelligence briefings.
The book also said that high ranking members of Trump's staff had little respect for him and that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he felt like he was "having a cardiac arrest" when he listened in on a call between Trump and South Korea's president in 2018. It went on to allege that Pompeo said Trump was "full of s---" when he met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shortly after the phone call with South Korea's president.
"By ending these proceedings without in any way penalizing Ambassador Bolton or limiting his proceeds from the book, the Department of Justice has tacitly acknowledged that President Trump and his White House officials acted illegitimately," Bolton's lawyer, Charles Cooper, said in a statement after The Times' story broke Wednesday.
The former national security advisor's spokesperson also said the DOJ's decision to close the investigation is a "vindication for Ambassador Bolton, and a repudiation of former President Trump's attempt, under the pretext of protecting classified information, first to suppress the book's publication and when that failed in court, to penalize the Ambassador."
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
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