Patterico's Pontifications

6/17/2020

Bolton Draws the Ideal Judge in Trump Administration Lawsuit to Stop His Book

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 8:21 am



John Bolton could not have gotten a better draw for this case if he had handpicked the judge himself.

That is a great, great draw for Bolton. Because Judge Lambert has been outspoken about the problem of courts being too deferential to the executive on classification claims. From 2013:

Federal courts are “far too deferential” to the executive branch’s claims that information classified on national security grounds and shouldn’t be released to the public, a prominent federal judge said Monday.

Speaking at a conference for federal employees who process Freedom of Information Act requests, U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth said his fellow jurists usually rubber-stamp agency claims that disclosing information would jeopardize national security.

“It bothers me that judges, in general, are far too deferential to Exemption 1 claims,” Lamberth said, referring the language in FOIA that allows for withholding of information classified pursuant to an executive order. “Most judges give almost blind deference on Exemption 1 claims.”

. . . .

“A lot of the courts have been very hesitant to do very much in that area because there is this constitutional problem” of the judiciary intruding into the traditional executive branch domain of national security, Lamberth told the American Society of Access Professionals training conference in Arlington, Va.

Lamberth, who sits in Washington, D.C., said his views were informed by “a couple of really horrible examples” of intelligence agency misconduct that might have been more quickly exposed and addressed if courts held a more “robust” interpretation of FOIA rights.

That is gooooood for Bolton.

In 2007, I described the book Irreparable Harm by Frank Snepp as one of five books that changed my life, because it “made me understand that sometimes government agents sometimes classify information just to keep themselves from being embarrassed.” The book describes Snepp’s legal fight over his book Decent Interval, which was a scathing indictment of the CIA’s missteps in Vietnam, particularly our abandonment of our allies in country after the Saigon airlift. Snepp fought a losing battle that went all the way to the Supreme Court over the government’s ability to withhold information they claimed was classified but was really done so to prevent embarrassment. (Some people of a particularly authoritarian bent believe that avoiding embarrassment to the government is actually a legitimate interest that justifies classification. Many of these people are involved in classification decisions. Josef Stalin could not have agreed more.) Snepp lost, and the government was able to seize profits from Decent Interval and subject Snepp’s future books to prepublication review.

From Frank Snepp’s experience, I know that even when government classifies information in bad faith to keep the public learning from their missteps, courts can be far too deferential to such bogus classification claims. Judge Lamberth is Bolton’s best chance in this very tough legal environment. This will be interesting indeed — and if (as I suspect) the Trump administration has been using the classification system to keep material from public view that is not sensitive for any reason other than that it embarrasses Donald Trump, I think Judge Lamberth is the one judge we can count on to get to the bottom of it.

65 Responses to “Bolton Draws the Ideal Judge in Trump Administration Lawsuit to Stop His Book”

  1. Ah, is like Latvia.
    Comrade write “Politburo is big bunch of potato-heads” on statue of Kropotkin.
    He get one year for deface public monument and five year for reveal state secret.
    Very sad. Such is life.

    nk (1d9030)

  2. Very interesting. I strongly believe in limited government. Getting accurate information to the public is probably the most important part of limiting government power. Hiding information for purely political advantage is entirely counter to that. One of the things I really disliked about Obama was the way they were able to stonewall and slow walk oversight. I wish it were likely to be improved. But don’t think that it is.

    Time123 (653992)

  3. (Some people of a particularly authoritarian bent believe that avoiding embarrassment to the government is actually a legitimate interest that justifies classification. Many of these people are involved in classification decisions. Josef Stalin could not have agreed more.)

    This is exactly what the Trump supporter argument is going to be. It’s a talking point that will last because it gives Trump a fig leaf, but not enough of principle, so it will accomplish the Trump campaign’s true purpose of annoying people.

    Dustin (d59cff)

  4. Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Censorship of Writings by Ex-Officials

    A federal judge on Thursday (April 2, 2020) dismissed a novel lawsuit (ACLU v. CIA & Knight Institute v. DOD) challenging a censorship system the government uses to ensure that millions of former military and intelligence officials disclose no classified secrets if they write articles and books after leaving public service.
    ……
    But in a 57-page opinion, Judge George J. Hazel of the Federal District Court of the District of Maryland ruled that the 1980 precedent (Snepp v.U.S.) still controlled the legal dispute — at least at his level. He wrote that only the Supreme Court can decide if one of its precedents is obsolete in light of changed circumstances.
    ….
    The plaintiffs argued that the system was “dysfunctional” and unjustifiably restricted their free speech and due process rights. They said the system was plagued by a patchwork of ambiguous policies and vague standards that put too much power in the hands of reviewing officials, who can discriminate against lower-ranking people who criticize government actions while speedily clearing favorable memoirs by retired senior officials.

    “Plaintiffs’ position is simply untenable in light of Snepp,” he wrote.
    …..
    The Supreme Court did not hear arguments or take briefs before issuing its unsigned ruling in Snepp, which dismissed the First Amendment issues in a footnote. The ruling, moreover, was handed down before the prepublication review system underwent enormous growth.
    ……

    RipMurdock (d2a2a8)

  5. Before Judge Lambeeth rules on the case, will the government need to identify specific passages in the manuscript that contain the classified information that Bolton wants to present? My understanding is that the pre-publication reviews performed to date have already approved the manuscript. Is the government claiming that those reviews were uninformed?

    John B Boddie (f44786)

  6. In a weird twist of fate, if the courts makes it harder for future administrations to abuse the classification system to hide embarrassments…when it took a Trump administration for that to happen.

    That’s awesome silver lining…

    Because every prior administrations has done this.

    whembly (c30c83)

  7. UT Law.

    DRJ (15874d)

  8. Because every prior administrations has done this.

    whembly (c30c83) — 6/17/2020 @ 8:58 am

    I agree to an extent, but Trump is the most hysterical version of each kind of corruption. And he ran on a promise to stop it. To drain the swamp, to balance the budget, to solve foreign policy problems.

    Trump campaigned by condemning Obama’s hiding of his transcript, his long-form birth certificate (LOL), and government records. He campaigned against Hillary’s emails being hidden. He promised he would happily release his tax returns.

    Trump not only failed to keep his promise of transparency, he fights investigations, inspectors general, his own administration when they say something is wrong. Any whistleblower gets doxxed and punished.

    but you are right that the silver lining to Trump is that there will be a lot of interest in reforming the executive branch. I hope Biden makes this his legacy.

    Dustin (d59cff)

  9. @6, yes and it’s been getting worse. Obama was worse then Bush. Trump is worse then Obama. It needs to stop, if this helps that it’s all to the better.

    Time123 (306531)

  10. @8

    but you are right that the silver lining to Trump is that there will be a lot of interest in reforming the executive branch. I hope Biden makes this his legacy.

    Dustin (d59cff) — 6/17/2020 @ 9:16 am

    Surely you jest?

    A Biden administration would be a 3rd term Obama administration no doubt….and the Obama administration abused the living hell out of that classification system.

    whembly (c30c83)

  11. Interesting legal background of pre-publication review.

    RipMurdock (d2a2a8)

  12. Surely you jest?

    A Biden administration would be a 3rd term Obama administration no doubt….and the Obama administration abused the living hell out of that classification system.

    whembly (c30c83) — 6/17/2020 @ 9:26 am

    I may be mistaken (I usually am) but didn’t you say it was reasonable for the Trump administration to say everything Trump says is classified? And you’re defending the Trump administration because someone else really abused this system?

    I am not a fan of Biden’s and anyone reading my bloviating nonsense knows that well. But yes, I hope he sees the moment for what it is. His administration should be focused on bringing Trump and his criminal accomplices to justice, including the Russian government for its attack on our most important institution. They should be focuses on reforms that prevent this corruption from happening again. Transparency and accountability are important. If Biden is just going to forgive student loans and open the borders he will have an easier four years, but will have failed the moment, in my opinion.

    Dustin (d59cff)

  13. “ Surely you jest?”
    __

    I don’t think they do.

    Every day the news shows us what the party of Biden has done to American cities.

    The ‘reforming’ that’s coming with a prospective Biden admin won’t look anything like what these people envision, nor will it have much to do with Biden other than as a puppet front man.
    _

    harkin (9c4571)

  14. @12, Biden will almost certainly fail the moment. But the difference between that and ‘continue making it worse’ isn’t a small one.

    Time123 (653992)

  15. Time123, I agree.

    Biden’s ‘they gonna put y’all in chains’ history is hardly the uniter we need right now, but Kamala will effectively make his campaign about putting Trump in the defendant’s chair. It will be a lot of fun watching Trump lose, though the lame duck period will be as perilous as any we’ve lived through.

    This election is not about Biden, no matter how hard they try to tell us it is. Ham Sandwich 2020.

    Still, might as well urge Biden to promise some reforms. If Republicans were smart, they would realize it is in their interest to get the opposing side’s president to campaign on limited executive powers, but this is the GOP we’re talking about.

    Dustin (d59cff)

  16. Every day the news shows us what the party of Biden has done to American cities.
    That is the most idiotic statement ever.

    RipMurdock (d2a2a8)

  17. @12

    Surely you jest?

    A Biden administration would be a 3rd term Obama administration no doubt….and the Obama administration abused the living hell out of that classification system.

    whembly (c30c83) — 6/17/2020 @ 9:26 am

    I may be mistaken (I usually am) but didn’t you say it was reasonable for the Trump administration to say everything Trump says is classified?

    No. I made no such statement.

    And you’re defending the Trump administration because someone else really abused this system?

    No. If the classification is *ONLY* done to shield the administration of embarrassment, that an abuse of power.

    We just went through SEVERAL iterations of public disclosures of the same FISA documents only to find out things were redacted only to shield the FBI from embarrassments.

    I am not a fan of Biden’s and anyone reading my bloviating nonsense knows that well. But yes, I hope he sees the moment for what it is. His administration should be focused on bringing Trump and his criminal accomplices to justice, including the Russian government for its attack on our most important institution. They should be focuses on reforms that prevent this corruption from happening again. Transparency and accountability are important. If Biden is just going to forgive student loans and open the borders he will have an easier four years, but will have failed the moment, in my opinion.

    Dustin (d59cff) — 6/17/2020 @ 9:46 am

    A Biden Administration would bring back most of the Obama era officials. I don’t see any possibility of that sort of reform.

    whembly (c30c83)

  18. Biden opens 13-point advantage as Trump popularity drops to seven-month low: Reuters/Ipsos poll
    …..
    In the June 10-16 poll, 48% of registered voters said they would back Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, in the Nov. 3 election, while 35% said they would support Trump.

    Biden’s advantage is the biggest recorded by the Reuters/Ipsos poll since Democrats began their state nominating contests this year to pick their party’s nominee to challenge Trump in November. A similar CNN poll from earlier this month showed Biden with a 14-point lead over Trump among registered voters.

    The Reuters/Ipsos poll also showed that 57% of U.S. adults disapproved of Trump’s performance in office, while just 38% approved…..

    ….Republicans’ net approval of Trump is down 13 points from March to June, declining every month in that span.
    ….
    Altogether, 55% of Americans said they disapproved of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus, while 40% approved, which is the lowest net approval for the president on the subject since Reuters/Ipsos started tracking the question in early March.
    ….

    RipMurdock (d2a2a8)

  19. Trump Considers Suing His Niece Over Her Tell-All Book, Saying She Signed an NDA
    This past Sunday, news broke that the president’s niece, Mary Trump, was on track to publish a “harrowing and salacious” book this summer about her world-famous uncle. By Sunday night, the president had been privately briefed on what he could expect from the upcoming book. By Tuesday, he had begun discussing siccing his lawyers on his niece.

    According to two people familiar with the situation, Donald Trump has told people close to him that he’s getting his lawyers to look into the Mary Trump matter, to explore what could be done in the way of legal retribution—or at least a threat—likely in the form of a cease and desist letter. ….
    Mary Trump signed an NDA following a 2001 settlement after litigation disputing Fred Trump’s estate, according to people familiar with the matter. That NDA states she is not allowed to publish anything regarding the litigation or her relationship with Donald, Maryanne and Robert.
    …..
    Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man is slated to be published on July 28. Late on Monday night, following The Daily Beast’s story the publisher of Mary Trump’s book, Simon & Schuster posted the book on Amazon, where it quickly soared up the charts with pre-sale orders.

    In the book, Mary Trump is not only expected to discuss difficult internal family dynamics and offer revelations about a younger Donald Trump; she is also expected to out herself as a primary source behind a Pulitzer-winning New York Times investigation into her uncle’s taxes.
    …..

    RipMurdock (d2a2a8)

  20. No. I made no such statement.

    My mistake.

    Dustin (d59cff)

  21. By this you mean, maybe be classified, or not, right? Because reality matters.

    Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/16/2020 @ 9:27 am

    There’s a presumption that they’re classified. Which, if you think about it completely makes sense.

    See the story regarding Anthony Weiner’s laptop, where Huma had email correspondences between HRC and Obama. Susan Rice remarked, in shock, that those are classified.

    So, my question originally was if that applied in this case (it’s not an electronic correspondence, and contemporary accounting of a staffer’s deliberations with the POTUS).

    I think this is an EO directive, but I’m not sure if that’s in effect in this current administration.

    whembly (c30c83) — 6/16/2020 @ 11:26 am

    I don’t care for gotcha comments and internet debate, Whembly, but I agree with you (today) that this is not reasonable at all. The idea that everything Trump says is presumptively classified, that we have to unclassify everything he says by asking Trump’s admin to overcome this presumption, means that Trump can get away with criminal activity. Your view that abuse of the classification system by Obama went too far suggests you want the American people to presumptively have access to what our government is doing on our behalf. That sounds reasonable to me.

    Dustin (d59cff)

  22. A Biden Administration would bring back most of the Obama era officials. I don’t see any possibility of that sort of reform.

    I think the most likely improvement will be in Biden’s institutional mindset. I think there’s a chance that having spent a lifetime in the Senate he will respect it’s institutions and provide more meaningful response to oversight. At a minimum i think he’ll go back to the merely bad levels of the Obama administration.

    Time123 (306531)

  23. I only want one thing from Biden. He needs to remove the sycophants that Trump has littered the bureaucracy with whose only qualification for their job is their personal loyalty and willingness to bow to his every whim and replace them with people who know what the hell they are doing. That’s it. He can spend the rest of his term asleep in an easychair in the residence for all I care. (Well, it would be nice if he came out now an then and made a speech about being the president of everyone, just to get that idea back into the culture and he should probably sign some bills into law, but really, that shouldn’t take more than a half-hour or so a day.)

    Nic (896fdf)

  24. Walrus Gumbo is no Miles Kendig.

    _______

    22. A Biden Administration would bring back most of the Obama era officials.

    More likely rotary phones.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  25. Speaking of censorship:

    NBC Said Google Is Demonetizing The Federalist for Spreading Fake News; Google Says the NBC Report Is Fake News

    https://reason.com/2020/06/17/google-the-federalist-nbc-news-demonetize-ads/
    _

    We’re entering the twilight zone of journalism.
    _

    harkin (9c4571)

  26. nk (1d9030) — 6/17/2020 @ 8:42 am

    Is make joke!

    Ha, you funny.

    Dave (1bb933)

  27. Trump asked China’s Xi to help him win reelection, according to Bolton book

    President Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to help him win the 2020 U.S. election, telling Xi during a summit dinner last year that increased agricultural purchases by Beijing from American farmers would aid his electoral prospects, according to a damning new account of life inside the Trump administration by former national security adviser John Bolton.

    During a one-on-one meeting at the June 2019 Group of 20 summit in Japan, Xi complained to Trump about China critics in the United States. But Bolton writes in a book scheduled to be released next week that “Trump immediately assumed Xi meant the Democrats. Trump said approvingly that there was great hostility among the Democrats.

    “He then, stunningly, turned the conversation to the coming U.S. presidential election, alluding to China’s economic capability to affect the ongoing campaigns, pleading with Xi to ensure he’d win,” Bolton writes. “He stressed the importance of farmers, and increased Chinese purchases of soybeans and wheat in the electoral outcome. I would print Trump’s exact words but the government’s prepublication review process has decided otherwise.”

    Dave (1bb933)

  28. Trump asked China’s Xi to help him win reelection, according to Bolton book

    I read it over the last 2 days. It’s completely condemning of Trump and his childish idiocy, it’s also the least surprising thing ever. Almost everything in the book are things that we knew, because in most cases Trump just came out and said it publicly, and it drew gasps, until the next day when the next worst thing came out.

    With Trump, the barrel has no bottom, it can always get worse. The bigger the stakes, the worse he does.

    The backhanded insults by everyone around Trump, is kind of juicy, but again, we already knew Trump was an “effing moron”.

    Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827)

  29. OT- Day of the Living Dead: dressed in an ill-fitting suit, akin to a corpse in coffin, a slope shouldered JoeyBee held a wake today in Darby, PA.– with a whispery voice fit for a eulogy only Charles Addams could love.

    Inspiring.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  30. Trump approved concentration camps

    Beijing’s repression of its Uighur citizens also proceeded apace. Trump asked me at the 2018 White House Christmas dinner why we were considering sanctioning China over its treatment of the Uighurs, a largely Muslim people who live primarily in China’s northwest Xinjiang Province.

    At the opening dinner of the Osaka G-20 meeting in June 2019, with only interpreters present, Xi had explained to Trump why he was basically building concentration camps in Xinjiang. According to our interpreter, Trump said that Xi should go ahead with building the camps, which Trump thought was exactly the right thing to do. The National Security Council’s top Asia staffer, Matthew Pottinger, told me that Trump said something very similar during his November 2017 trip to China.

    Dave (1bb933)

  31. Well, I won’t be voting for Biden or any other Democrat. I won’t be voting for Trump or any other Republican. I’ll be voting against the incumbent, not for the alternative candidate.

    This country is so screwed up politically, it’s unbelievable to me. This is not the country I grew up in. This is not the country I recognize. And it’s taken only a few short years for everything to blow itself up.

    This entire nation, hell this entire world, has gone insane. I won’t have any part of it. I will not contribute to or vote for continued madness and incompetence. This all needs to end, not today but yesterday.

    Gawain's Ghost (b25cd1)

  32. So justice depends on which Judge you get. Can our bizarre, out of control judiciary, get even more absurd? Why even wait time with all the legal mumbo jumbo? Just pick a paper out of a hat, “You win” or “You lose” ? But I guess if average ‘muricins are going to be such sheep they deserve to ruled by unelected lawyers in black robes.

    rcocean (2e1c02)

  33. Bolton Says Trump Impeachment Inquiry Missed Other Troubling Actions
    … …..
    Mr. Bolton describes several episodes where the president expressed willingness to halt criminal investigations “to, in effect, give personal favors to dictators he liked,” citing cases involving major firms in China and Turkey. “The pattern looked like obstruction of justice as a way of life, which we couldn’t accept,” Mr. Bolton writes, adding that he reported his concerns to Attorney General William P. Barr.
    …….
    The book, “The Room Where It Happened,” was obtained by The New York Times in advance of its scheduled publication next Tuesday…….
    …….
    ……. It is a withering portrait of a president ignorant of even basic facts about the world, susceptible to transparent flattery by authoritarian leaders manipulating him and prone to false statements, foul-mouthed eruptions and snap decisions that aides try to manage or reverse.

    Mr. Trump did not seem to know, for example, that Britain is a nuclear power and asked if Finland is part of Russia, Mr. Bolton writes. He came closer to withdrawing the United States from NATO than previously known. Even top advisers who position themselves as unswervingly loyal mock him behind his back.
    ……

    Rip Murdock (212cb2)

  34. As for Bolten’s book and his attacks on Trump, I’m not even going to defend him. Trump’s getting what he deserved by hiring ANOTHER disloyal, non-supporter. Rosenstein, Bolten, Kelly, the Exxon President, the list goes on and on.

    Trump had the strange idea that Bolten would be loyal. Where did he get that idea?

    rcocean (2e1c02)

  35. Bolten can divulge private conversations and say “Trump said this or that”, but who cares? How can Trump prove he did NOT say it? He can’t. And Bolten has to sell books. In any case, Presidents say all kinds of things. And don’t follow up on it, or change their minds. Ultimately the book has nothing to add, except gossip and tittle tattle.

    rcocean (2e1c02)

  36. BTW, I find the title of the post, hilarious. Yes, “The walls are closing in on Trump” This time “Trump is finished” and “Conservative” Joe Biden will get elected to the applause of “Conservative” David French, Bill Kristol, Jonah Goldberg, and Matt Lewis. LOL!

    rcocean (2e1c02)

  37. i don’t see anything that’s classification worthy in those excerpts, unlike ciamarella, whose name is worthy of a d notice, like voldemort you shall not speak it, is grubbing for victor pinchuk, really worth embarassing that way,

    narciso (7404b5)

  38. just gossip basically

    https://legalinsurrection.com/2020/06/man-accused-of-shoving-elderly-woman-in-nyc-has-been-
    arrested-over-100-times-since-2005/

    narciso (7404b5)

  39. Trump had the strange idea that Bolten would be loyal. Where did he get that idea?

    We don’t need to ask where Trump got the idea that the highest duty of a public official is to be loyal to Donald Trump personally. That’s just the natural product of sociopathic narcissism.

    The real question is: Where did all the Trump supporters get the strange idea that they should adopt the Trumpian standard for a good public servant?

    Radegunda (89f220)

  40. BTW, I find the title of the post, hilarious. Yes, “The walls are closing in on Trump”

    Where does it say this

    This time “Trump is finished”

    Where does it say this?

    and “Conservative” Joe Biden will get elected to the applause of “Conservative” David French, Bill Kristol, Jonah Goldberg, and Matt Lewis. LOL!

    Where does it say this?

    Be specific.

    Colonel Klink (Ret) (9878f6)

  41. How can Trump prove he did NOT say it? He can’t.

    He has no difficulty denying that he said something he’s on tape saying.
    A denial from Trump carries as much weight as a boast from Trump — i.e., basically none. That’s a reality created by Trump himself.

    Radegunda (89f220)

  42. Breaking-

    Officer who shot Rayshard Brooks charged with felony murder
    Prosecutors brought murder charges Wednesday against the white Atlanta police officer who shot Rayshard Brooks in the back, saying that the black man posed no threat when he was gunned down and that the officer kicked him and offered no medical treatment as he lay dying on the ground.
    ……
    The felony murder charge against Rolfe carries life in prison without parole or the death penalty. He was also charged with 10 other offenses punishable by decades behind bars.

    “Mr. Brooks never presented himself as a threat,” Howard said.

    A second officer with Rolfe, Devin Brosnan, stood on a wounded Brooks’ shoulder as he struggled for his life, according to (District Attorney Paul) Howard. Brosnan was charged with aggravated assault and other offenses but is cooperating with prosecutors and will testify, according to the district attorney, who said it was the first time in 40 such cases in which an officer has come forward to do this.
    …..
    Police body camera video showed Brooks and officers having a relatively calm and respectful conversation for more than 40 minutes before things rapidly turned violent. Brooks wrestled with officers, snatched one of their stun guns and pointed it at one of them as he ran through the parking lot.

    An autopsy found that Brooks was shot twice in the back.

    Ahead of the district attorney’s scheduled announcement, Rolfe’s lawyers issued a statement saying the officer feared for his safety and that of others around him and was justified in shooting Brooks. Rolfe opened fire after hearing a sound “like a gunshot and saw a flash in front of him.”
    ……

    RipMurdock (d2a2a8)

  43. Bolton’s piece today in the Wall Street Journal is about Trump’s interactions with the Xi regime, and it’s not pretty. There were paragraphs about Trump asking Xi to help him win reelection, which is of course bad, but this is classic Trump.

    I first heard Trump react on June 12, upon hearing that some 1.5 million people had been at Sunday’s demonstrations. “That’s a big deal,” he said. But he immediately added, “I don’t want to get involved,” and, “We have human-rights problems too.”

    It sounds so similar to Trump’s excuses about Putin’s human rights violations, as if there is any equivalence between whatever the US has done versus the Chinese Communist Party’s imprisonment of millions of Uighers in “reeducation” camps. It’s another of Trump’s many un-American and unpatriotic words and acts.

    Paul Montagu (d27749)

  44. Bob Woodward’s new book on Trump administration coming this September
    …..
    Woodward’s second book about the Trump administration is scheduled for release on September 15 in the lead-up to the November presidential election. The title and cover of the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter’s new book has not yet been released.
    …..
    In January, Trump announced in an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham that he had sat down with Woodward for the upcoming book. Trump’s admission came as a surprise after he was openly critical of “Fear,” despite being offered an opportunity to be interviewed.

    “I was interviewed by a very, very good writer, reporter,” Trump said. “I can say Bob Woodward. He said he’s doing something and this time I said, ‘maybe I’ll sit down.’
    ……

    RipMurdock (d2a2a8)

  45. rcocean…. “Ultimately the book has nothing to add”

    That’s right. Another one. Just another top Trump appointee telling the truth about the crazy sh!t he does. Nothing to see here.

    noel (4d3313)

  46. ‘This is not the country I grew up in. This is not the country I recognize. And it’s taken only a few short years for everything to blow itself up.’

    Welcome to 1964.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  47. The book is apparently going to reveal that Trump directly asked China’s leader for help to win the election. He also told them to go ahead and build their abusive internment camps.

    You know. The usual stuff.

    noel (4d3313)

  48. ‘Nothing to see here.’

    Here either:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQDRHqTD6WQ

    The Walrus has Gumbo-ed: beware the arsonist who shows up to hose the house where he fanned the flames.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  49. Ahead of the district attorney’s scheduled announcement, Rolfe’s lawyers issued a statement saying the officer feared for his safety and that of others around him and was justified in shooting Brooks. Rolfe opened fire after hearing a sound “like a gunshot and saw a flash in front of him.”
    ……

    RipMurdock (d2a2a8) — 6/17/2020 @ 1:56 pm

    Sounds like reasonable doubt to me.

    Dustin (d59cff)

  50. A White House official said John Bolton’s book contained no classified info. Then Trump loyalists intervened.

    …..[A]s the Justice Department’s own suit admits, there was indeed a point at which the White House official who had worked extensively with Bolton decided that the manuscript of the book was free of classified information. Shortly thereafter, though, she was overruled by officials with closer ties to Trump — and, in one case, thanks to an official with a history of politically charged actions benefiting Trump.

    “On or around April 27, 2020, Ms. (Ellen) Knight (the NSC official overseeing pre-publication reviews) had completed her review and was of the judgment that the manuscript draft did not contain classified information,” the lawsuit states.

    But a few days later, on May 2, another official launched an “an additional review,” according to the lawsuit. The official was Michael Ellis, the senior director for intelligence on the National Security Council. Interestingly, the lawsuit says the additional review was conducted “at the request of” Bolton’s replacement as White House national security adviser, Robert O’Brien. O’Brien had reviewed the manuscript and Knight’s guidance and decided there was still classified information in the book.
    ….
    A former aide to the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes (Calif.), Ellis in 2017 was one of three White House officials involved in the handling of sensitive intelligence that was shared with Nunes to discredit the Russia investigation. The New York Times, which initially reported on this, said it “showed that Mr. Nunes and one of the aides, Michael Ellis, a lawyer in the White House Counsel’s Office, were using intelligence to advance political goals.”

    Ellis was later party to controversy in the Ukraine investigation. Then-NSC official Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman testified under oath that he recalled it was Ellis who first raised the idea of putting Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on a highly classified NSC server. This was the infamous call on which Trump pushed Zelensky for politically oriented investigations, including one involving Joe Biden.
    …..
    Officials have suggested that it was unusual for NSC lawyers like Ellis to be involved in such decisions, and critics have alleged that the NSC was burying the call not because of classified information but because it could be politically damaging to Trump.
    ……

    RipMurdock (d2a2a8)

  51. Records demonstrate that as Trump was taking off as a political force, Wilson’s personal financial situation turned dour. The bank was moving in on his house, credit card companies were suing him over debt accrued, and the IRS filed various liens against him for almost $400,000 for back taxes in February 2014. As that happened, Wilson’s political style changed to become anti-Trump instead of continuing with his decades-long history of inflammatory right-wing politics.

    Wilson’s The Lincoln Project, a group of Never Trump political consultants running targeted ads attacking Trump this year, has been touting an ad bashing the Confederate flag as a symbol of “treason” against the United States…

    But then some conservatives uncovered social media posts from Wilson and his wife featuring a cooler with a Confederate flag on it as well as the text in one image: “The South Will Rise Again.”

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/06/17/financial-problems-plagued-rick-wilson-as-he-became-never-trump-leader/

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  52. Assessing the Government’s Lawsuit Against John Bolton
    The U.S. government filed a civil suit on June 17 against former National Security Advisor John Bolton. It primarily seeks (i) an injunction against the planned June 23 publication of Bolton’s book, “The Room Where it Happened: A White House Memoir”; and (ii) a “constructive trust” that would give the United States the right to all of Bolton’s profits from the book. The case has been assigned to Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

    The big news to us about the government’s case is that it’s weaker than we expected…..
    …..
    Notably, the government has not (yet) asked for a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction against publication. It may already be too late. The book has been distributed and will be widely sold next Tuesday. The New York Times, among other outlets, has a copy and is reporting on its contents and reviewing it. Bolton himself previewed the book today in the Wall Street Journal. This all means that the focus of the case will almost certainly be on whether the government can impose a constructive trust and obtain Bolton’s profits.
    ……
    In order to prevail with respect to its first theory of alleged breach—and certainly in order to have any shot at having Judge Lamberth enjoin the book’s publication on that ground—the government must carry its burden of demonstrating to the court that the book contains properly classified information, even though Ellen Knight concluded, after a long and arduous review, that no classified information remained in the edited manuscript.
    ……
    In the Bolton case, whether Judge Lamberth applies the sort of review prescribed in McGehee (v. Casey) itself or imposes an even heavier burden on the government (as the McGehee footnote suggested), the government might have a hard time meeting its burden before next Tuesday’s publication date—especially in light of Knight’s extensive vetting of Bolton’s manuscript, the many changes Bolton made to it in response, and Knight’s “judgment [on April 27] that the manuscript draft did not contain classified information.” Whether the government can persuade Judge Lamberth “that the reasons for classification are rational and plausible ones” may depend on what sort of showing Michael Ellis makes this Friday, when he’s scheduled to explain to Bolton how the manuscript continues to contain classified information.
    …..
    The government also faces hurdles under its second theory of breach—that Bolton has violated his prepublication review duties.
    …..
    The key sentence (of Standard Form 312) reads: “I understand that if I am uncertain about the classification status of information I am required to confirm from an authorized official that the information is unclassified before I may disclose it …” (emphasis added).

    Bolton will likely argue that he never harbored such uncertainty—not when he first submitted the manuscript, and definitely not after Knight’s clearance—her “confirm[ation]” that the redacted draft had no classified information—at the end of the extensive iterative review. He’ll likely also argue that the SF-312 preclearance obligation, unlike the SF-4414 obligation (see below), doesn’t require written approval from the government. It only requires “confirmation from an authorized official that the information is unclassified”—something that Knight reportedly gave Bolton on April 27.
    …..
    It might therefore appear, at first glance, as though the government would be able to obtain both an injunction and a constructive trust, relying upon the Supreme Court’s 1980 decision in Snepp v. United States. On closer inspection, however, the government has some significant challenges to overcome in order to obtain those remedies.
    …..
    [I]t appears that the government neither believes nor alleges that the book contains SCI information. And that’s especially important because Section 5 of SF-4414 itself specifies that the prepublication review the NDA requires is not for purposes of classification review broadly, nor for redacting information “related to” SCI, but only to ensure that SCI itself is not disclosed…..
    ……
    For these reasons, it’s very far from clear that Judge Lamberth will conclude that Bolton has violated his prepublication obligations under the NDAs. The primary disputed issue will probably be whether Bolton has any uncertainty about whether any material in the book is classified, particularly in light of Knight’s confirmation that the manuscript contains no classified information.

    And that’s before we even get to the First Amendment issues related to prior restraints.
    ……

    RipMurdock (d2a2a8)

  53. And laches.

    nk (1d9030)

  54. @53. Meh. A red herring. Actually MSNBC -yes, MSNBC– aired a series of clips in a news package the other night featuring several scenes recorded over the years of Trump displaying the same mannerism on camera at various venues and functions– even from his NYC days. It’s a non-starter, particularly compared to JoeyBee gaffes- which, if not plagiarized, are freshly minted nearly every day.

    The Trump Project

    #LincolnHasOneHelluvaHeadache

    😉

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  55. But does he actually play golf at those outings? And if he does, does he finish nine in fewer than 180 strokes and fewer than 180 lost balls?

    nk (1d9030)

  56. Justice Department seeks emergency order to block publication of Bolton’s book
    …..
    The move came after the administration filed a civil suit against Bolton on Tuesday, targeting the proceeds of the book and asking a court to order him to delay its scheduled June 23 release. Less than 24 hours later, the Wall Street Journal published an excerpt of the memoir, and lengthy accounts were published by other news organizations.

    Wednesday’s move sought to formally enjoin Bolton from allowing his book to be published, a legal strategy experts said was unlikely to succeed, particularly given that the book has already been printed and shipped to warehouses and copies distributed to the media for review.

    Still, the legal show of force could satisfy President Trump, who urged aides Wednesday to seek to block the publication of the book, despite warnings that his legal case would not be strong, according to people familiar with his remarks, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.
    ……
    In a 37-page filing Wednesday, the Justice Department wrote, “Disclosure of the manuscript will damage the national security of the United States, adding, “To be clear: Defendant’s manuscript still contains classified information, as confirmed by some of the Government’s most senior national-security and intelligence officials.”

    Prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the District for a hearing Friday on the motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Bolton, “seeking to enjoin publication of a book containing classified information.”
    ……
    Trump, who has called Bolton a “traitor” and was incensed that he walked out of the White House with copious notes, has told allies he’d like to see Bolton be charged……

    Barring further court action by the government, by law, Bolton is not required to respond to the Justice Department civil suit for 20 days — weeks after the book’s publication date. The case is not likely to be decided until the fall, at the earliest.
    …….

    RipMurdock (d2a2a8)

  57. Jack Goldsmith has a good rundown of the Trump administration case against Bolton for disclosing classified information. Basically, Bolton’s book was signed off by an NSC official, Ms. Knight, on April 27th. Not long after, Trump’s NSA bootlickers stepped in to re-review Bolton’s book and “found” classified information in it, and they have continued to obstruct the book’s release, thanks now to Chief Bootlicker Barr.
    Lamberth should not only dismiss Barr’s injunction, it should happen with prejudice.

    Paul Montagu (d27749)

  58. So which is it?

    Trump says Bolton’s book is “made up of lies and fake stories.” Meanwhile aides are arguing it’s “full of classified information.”

    Paul Montagu (d27749)

  59. As with Schiff, Nadler, Cohen and countless others, Trump critics suddenly find credibility in what was once a shameless liar.

    beer ‘n pretzels (e5f418)

  60. Jack Goldsmith:

    Bolton’s lawyer now pointing to technical but key point: The political appointee who determined that Bolton manuscript had classified info (after career official determined it didn’t) hadn’t received required training re classification prior to conducting his review.

    To say the least:

    4/27: Career official says Bolton book contains no classified info
    5/2: Political appointee (Ellis) begins review of manuscript.
    6/9: Ellis completes review.
    6/10: Ellis receives mandatory training “in proper classification (including avoidance of over-classification)” (oops)

    Paul Montagu (d27749)

  61. I’m confused. If Bolton’s book is full of lies, how is the information classified? Seems that one story or the other must win out — lies, and he can publish, or facts and he cannot.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  62. As expected, Judge Lamberth tossed the DOJ injunction against Bolton, but doesn’t close the door on any breaches of contract.

    Paul Montagu (d27749)


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