Pirated Versions of John Bolton Memoir Circulate Online, Gives Public a 'Free' Sneak Peek Ahead of Release
The new book of former national security advisory John Bolton is slated for release on Tuesday, following a win in a legal battle against the Trump administration that sought to stop its distribution.
However, a PDF version of Bolton's memoir "The Room Where It Happened" has appeared and circulated online over the weekend, giving the public a free view of the book.
Simon & Schuster spokesperson Adam Rothberg on Sunday said the publishing company is "working assiduously to take down" the pirated copies of the book, the Associated Press reported.
It has yet to be determined whether the unauthorized release of Bolton's memoir will affect its sales. The book is now number 1 on Amazon's U.S. charts.
Piracy has long been a concern among publishers.
Last Saturday, a federal judge has denied the request of the Justice Department to halt the release and sale of Bolton's tell-all memoir that painted U.S. President Donald Trump as a "stunningly uninformed and mendacious" chief executive.
According to U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth, thousands of copies of the book have already been printed and shipped out to distributors.
Thus, enforcing the government's appeal would be "impossible."
Striking a Deal
Bolton's book will give readers a peek on what went wrong between the country's relationship with Iran and North Korea.
Bolton was hired to be the President's national security adviser in the spring of 2018, when the U.S. imposed sanctions on both countries.
It was no secret that Bolton has spoke out of wanting to attack nuclear facilities in North Korea and Iran, which he believed could be driven over the brink by extreme sanctions.
But in his book, Bolton said Trump rejected the use of force and instead, set his priorities in making a deal that could garner huge success, even if it had flaws.
Bolton also alleged they they had to deter Trump from meeting the Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, over fears that the American-educated minister would outwit the President.
Pompeo: U.S. Secretary of State
In his memoir, the former national security adviser also mentioned of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who called him an "ally" that privately criticized the President, The Hill reported.
Bolton also recounted a scenario, wherein Pompeo voiced his thoughts on resigning from his position in December 2018, when Trump agreed with Chinese President Xi Jinping's plan of building concentration camps for Uighur Muslims.
The state secretary allegedly feared a possible rollback on restrictions imposed on Chinese telecommunications firms.
In one chapter of the book, Bolton cited Pompeo's role in firing the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch last year.
He claimed the secretary tried to delay and prevent the ambassador's ousting, citing an instance where the top official dismissed accusations made by Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer.
Nevertheless, the ambassador was fired six months ahead of her expected departure.
This revelation came at a time when Pompeo was criticized for firing State Department Inspector General Steve Linick, who launched a probe against Pompeo and his wife's alleged misuse of the State Department resources as well as authorizing a multimillion-dollar arms deal with Saudi Arabia.
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