Not for the first time, I don't understand this WH threat. WH has no legal leverage except to review manuscript for classified information w/in 30-biz-day window, which ends in a few weeks. It cannot get prior restraint. And it is only building up significance of Bolton book.
Spoke too soon! Just saw letter @jaketapper referred to. cdn.cnn.com/cnn/2020/image… I wouldnt call this a "threat." It says manuscript contains “significant amount” of classified info, correctly says Bolton cannot publish classified info, and pledges to work w/ him to identify it.
@jaketapper Questions to consider:
1) How aggressively will USG be in identifying classified info. It has tons of discretion that it could leverage to keep out unwanted stuff.
2)Will Bolton comply with requested cuts before publishing, or assume the risk, publish, and litigate later?
1) How aggressively will USG be in identifying classified info. It has tons of discretion that it could leverage to keep out unwanted stuff.
2)Will Bolton comply with requested cuts before publishing, or assume the risk, publish, and litigate later?
@jaketapper A typical absurdity of the broken prepublication review process (See washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-g…). USG has now said that Bolton's manuscript, which is sitting on various unclassified servers outside USG, contains "significant amount of classified information."
@jaketapper To play this out a bit more, USG has now said Bolton's manuscript on all those unclassified servers (home, attorney office, publisher etc) contains classified info. USG can lawfully go retrieve it all, just as it did w/ Comey's barely classified memos on D. Richman's computer.
@jaketapper Or, to continue the thought, would such a seizure amount to a prior restraint? The information on Richman's computer was not a manuscript intended for publication. Bolton's manuscript is.
