Bolton book 'The Room Where it Happened': A letdown
“In taking it upon himself to publish his book without securing final approval from national intelligence authorities, Bolton may indeed have caused the country irreparable harm.
By MICAH D. HALPERNFORMER NATIONAL security advisor John Bolton listens to US President Donald Trump at the White House in 2018.(photo credit: REUTERS/KEVIN LAMARQUE/FILE PHOTO)
With his flowing mustache and bushy white hair, John Bolton has always captured media attention. Until recently, it was for what he said. Now, the attention the former United States Ambassador to the United Nations and former National Security Advisor is garnering attention for what he wrote.Everyone wishes they could be a fly on the wall in the White House, especially in this White House, the Trump White House. And in his newly released book, Bolton offered just that. The promise of a “tell all” account of how the Trump White House functions or, in this case, dysfunctions had everyone talking about “the Bolton Book.” Everyone was looking forward to a peek into the inner workings of the White House.Everyone, that is, except for the man who lives there.The White House, of course, tried to squash publication of the book. Anyone who knows anything about President Donald J. Trump would know that. That response was so predictable, Bolton could have written the episode as a final chapter. But what he couldn’t have known, was that is round one of Trump’s war against the publication of Bolton’s book, Trump would lose. His attempt to stop the book from reaching the waiting hands and eyes of America failed.US District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled against the Trump White House and would not grant an injunction stopping the distribution of the book entitled The Room Where It Happened.Judge Lamberth denied the injunction, saying it was too late to stop something that was already in the hands of the press and advance copies were already out there. Lamberth reasoned: “While Bolton’s unilateral conduct raises grave national security concerns, the government has not established that an injunction is an appropriate remedy.“In taking it upon himself to publish his book without securing final approval from national intelligence authorities, Bolton may indeed have caused the country irreparable harm.“But in the Internet age, even a handful of copies in circulation could irrevocably destroy confidentiality. A single dedicated individual with a book in hand could publish its contents far and wide from his local coffee shop. With hundreds of thousands of copies around the globe – many in newsrooms – the damage is done. There is no restoring the status quo.”He’s right. The book is out there. It can’t be stopped by an injunction so it is senseless to issue one. But Judge Lamberth took it a step further when he offered the Trump Administration advice on how they can still put a damper on the book.BECAUSE BOLTON did not wait for the final letter from the NCS saying that there is no classified information in the book, Judge Lamberth suggests that John Bolton may have broken the law. He suggests that Bolton, who once-upon-a-time was the trusted protector of the nation in an often hostile United Nations, actually endangered the United States by publishing his tell-all. And if that can be proven, the book may be out there, but in the end, he just might not reap its profits.Cynicism aside, who writes a book – especially a book promising real life drama and sensationalism – without an eye toward the significant revenue it will bring in.Lamberth writes: “This was Bolton’s bet: If he is right and the book does not contain classified information, he keeps the upside mentioned above; but if he is wrong, he stands to lose his profits from the book deal, exposes himself to criminal liability, and imperils national security... Bolton is wrong.”The truth is that books of this genre are seldom what they promise to be. Once they’re out and read and reviewed, and the hype and buzz has dissipated, they are often disappointing. I have read enough excerpts of “The Room Where it Happened” to be able to say that if these are the steamiest and most damning sections Bolton has to offer, the book is a real letdown.It’s a shame and it’s a sham. John Bolton was the National Security Advisor to Trump. He was his third and he served from April 2018 to September 2019. From the start, it was not an ideal position for Bolton. The person whispering into the ear of the president is not supposed to be a controversial figure. It is a position that requires sage wisdom and measured commentary, all discreetly handled and behind the scenes.But that was not John Bolton. I think his view on Israel is correct and his love of Israel was genuine. And I liked that he was always straightforward and honest about his analysis, but that is exactly why he was not well suited for this White House position.John Bolton does not have an edit function. He aired issues in public that should have been handled in private. And then he decided to write a book and make it even more public.It’s a shame and it’s a sham. And right now, it looks like the court battle over this book will be much more interesting that anything written in the book.The author is a political commentator. He hosts the TV show Thinking Out Loud on JBS TV. Follow him on Twitter @MicahHalpern.
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