A federal judge declined to issue an injunction blocking the publication of former national security adviser John Bolton’s memoir, the New York Times reports.
The Trump administration had asked Judge Royce C. Lamberth to issue a temporary restraining order that would block the sale of the book, titled The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir. The administration maintains it contains classified information.
Lamberth declined to do so, writing, “With hundreds of thousands of copies around the globe—many in newsrooms—the damage is done. There is no restoring the status quo.”
Lamberth indicated that Bolton could still face legal repercussions if it’s found that his book does indeed contain classified information.
“Defendant Bolton has gambled with the national security of the United States,” Lamberth wrote. “He has exposed his country to harm and himself to civil (and potentially criminal) liability. But these facts do not control the motion before the Court.”
Lamberth noted that Bolton could be forced to give up his $2 million advance for the book, and could face separate criminal charges. The Los Angeles Times reported last week that federal prosecutors were considering charging him with a crime for disclosing classified information.
Simon and Schuster, Bolton’s publisher, praised Lamberth’s ruling, NPR reports, saying in a statement, “We are grateful that the Court has vindicated the strong First Amendment protections against censorship and prior restraint of publication.”
The Room Where It Happened is slated for publication on Tuesday. As of Monday morning, it was the No. 1 bestselling book at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
