Pompeo released a statement Thursday saying he hadn’t read the book, but that leaked excerpts were filled with „lies, fully-spun half-truths, and outright falsehoods.“
„It is both sad and dangerous that John Bolton’s final public role is that of a traitor who damaged America by violating his sacred trust with its people,“ Pompeo said.
Excerpts show Bolton portraying Pompeo as a far less supportive figure of the president than the secretary would put on, including reportedly passing a note that said Trump is „so full of shit.“
In an interview on Fox News, Navarro said “book deal, big lie John Bolton” was among the least effective officials in the Trump White House and criticized Bolton for his well-known hawkishness.
„He comes in here in his like seersucker summer suits with the big mustache. I was in a staff meeting one time; he walked in and he was absolutely giddy at the prospect of a coup in Venezuela,” Navarro told Fox News. “It was like weird, and I’m thinking to myself, ‘Wait a minute. This is a serious, serious matter and he is giddy. There’s something wrong with that dude.’”
Mnuchin accused Bolton of violating his „obligation to return classified notes to the White House,“ and of mischaracterizing the Treasury’s work imposing sanctions on malign global leaders. Bolton alleged in his book that Trump tried to loosen sanctions on adversarial world leaders and even attempted to barter a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping in order to win support among rural voters.
„John Bolton has put self-promotion ahead of the truth and of the interests of the country,“ Mnuchin said.
The Department of Justice is suing to stop the publication of Bolton’s book, which has already been printed and advance copies of which have made their way into the media. The Justice Department filed an emergency application in U.S. District Court on Wednesday for a restraining order, claiming Bolton’s memoir contains damaging national security information that is true.
„Bolton’s book, which is getting terrible reviews, is a compilation of lies and made up stories, all intended to make me look bad,“ Trump tweeted Thursday morning. „Many of the ridiculous statements he attributes to me were never made, pure fiction. Just trying to get even for firing him like the sick puppy he is!“
Trump also tweeted that he should have fired Bolton in April 2018, after Bolton said the White House was looking to the Libyan model to approach negotiations with North Korea.
On „Fox and Friends“ Thursday morning, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany also questioned Bolton’s account and said he „is a misguided hawk on foreign policy and a weak dove of an author.“
„He’s discredited on both sides of the aisle, and if you thought [former FBI Director James] Comey was the most disliked man in America, I think John Bolton has now taken that title,“ McEnany said.
Source: politico.com
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