“The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir” is scheduled to be released on June 23, and, as of now, the White House has not formally signed off on it, the source said. Bolton has already scheduled network interviews to promote the book, a separate source told CNN. A spokesperson for Bolton declined to comment.
News of Bolton’s plans to move forward follow numerous delays as his lawyers have been embroiled in a battle with the White House over the contents. The Trump administration has raised concerns about the publication of classified information that it says is protected by executive privilege.
According to the Times, he also alleged that Trump didn’t want to lift a hold on military aid to Ukraine until officials there complied with the request. Bolton’s lawyers have not denied the substance of the New York Times reports but have condemned the leaks behind it.
The President, vice president and some agency heads designated by the President, have broad authority over classifying or declassifying information.
“The President is really empowered by the words in this executive authority,” said J. William Leonard, the former director of the information security office which overseas executive branch implementation of the executive order — and former deputy secretary of defense.
“It’s an authority that can be abused and it can weaken the classification system,” Leonard said. “They abuse it to keep the information out of the hands of adversaries that could potentially use the information to harm the country.”
This story has been updated with additional details.