John Bolton faces criminal investigation from Department of Justice over his book

The United States Department of Justice has opened a criminal inquiry into President Donald Trump's former National Security Adviser John Bolton's book. This comes after the Trump administration unsuccessfully moved to stop the publication of the book that claims to reveal the inner workings of the White House. The inquiry opened by the justice department will look into whether Bolton disclosed classified information in his memoir. 

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'Ready to cooperate'

Bolton's 17 month-long tenure in the White House ended abruptly in 2019 after Donald Trump claimed that he fired Bolton as his "services were no longer required". Bolton, however, contradicted Trump's claim on Twitter and said that he resigned from the position himself. Bolton in June 2020 published the memoir The Room Where It Happened, which immediately became a best seller. 

Read: John Bolton Accuses Donald Trump Of Not Prioritising Safety Of US Troops

Prior to the release, the Trump administration had moved to the court to block the book claiming that it violated the nondisclosure agreement that Bolton had signed before joining as the NSA and also cited national security threat. The court, however, ruled in favour of the publishers and allowed the publication of the memoir. John Bolton has denied that he acted improperly in publishing the book and has said he is ready to cooperate with any official inquiry into his conduct. 

Read: John Bolton Hopes History Remembers 'dangerous' Donald Trump As 'one-term President'

Donald Trump late last month had attacked John Bolton in a Tweet along with other people who published a book this year giving him negative publicity, including his niece Mary Trump. Trump in his Tweet called Bolton a "dumb warmonger" slamming his book for allegedly containing only "lies". 

Read: Donald Trump Renews Attack On Niece Mary, Ex-aid John Bolton Over Their Best-selling Books