Donald Trump and John Bolton

John Bolton is “a traitor” and his book should not be published before the election in November, Donald Trump reportedly told aides and media figures.

Iran PressAmerica: The US president’s views on news of a book deal for Marie Yovanovitch, another key figure in the Ukraine scandal which led to Trump’s impeachment, were not immediately clear.

John Bolton, a former ambassador to the UN, was Trump’s third national security adviser until he was fired in September last year.

He refused to testify in the House impeachment inquiry into Trump’s attempts to have Ukraine investigate his political rivals, which resulted in two articles of impeachment, concerning abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

According to a report by The Guardian, Bolton offered to testify in the Senate but Republicans voted not to call witnesses during a trial which duly ended in Trump’s acquittal, despite leaks from Bolton’s book manuscript seeming to show he possessed key knowledge about the affair.

Bolton's book, "The Room Where It Happened" was slated for publication in March but it has been held up, the national security council telling Bolton’s lawyer it would “move forward as expeditiously as possible” with determining what could be published.

On Friday night, the Washington Post cited two anonymous sources as saying Trump had told his own lawyers the book should not come out before the election.

Trump has also attacked Bolton in tweets but the Washington Post also reported notes of an off-the-record briefing of TV anchors on 4 February.

“We’re going to try and block the publication of the book,” Trump reportedly said. “After I leave office, he can do this. But not in the White House.

“I give the guy a break,” he added. “I give him a job. And then he turns on me. He’s just making things up.”

Trump also called Bolton a traitor, the Washington Post reported.  211/104

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