Conservative radio host and bestselling author Mark Levin said Wednesday that he had asked publisher Simon & Schuster to release him from his contract over the company’s decision to publish John Bolton’s forthcoming book.
Bolton’s tell-all book about President Donald Trump, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, will go on sale Tuesday — unless the Department of Justice (DOJ) succeeds in its effort to stop its publication over concerns that Bolton has revealed classified information. The DOJ is also reportedly considering criminal charges against Bolton.
In the book, Bolton provides his account of working as the Trump administration’s National Security Adviser for nearly 18 months, and complains about the way the president conducted foreign policy.
In his radio show Wednesday, Levin ripped Bolton, claiming he had not only betrayed Trump, but undermined the office of the presidency.
He compared Bolton to Benedict Arnold, who committed treason against the United States by defecting to the British in the American Revolution.
Levin added that he was so outraged by Bolton’s decision to publish the book that he was dropping Simon & Schuster as his own publisher.
I’ll be honest with you. His publisher is Simon & Schuster. Simon and Schuster has a conservative unit within its corporate structure called Threshold Books. And that’s who I’ve written for, every book except Men in Black. And I sent a message into Simon & Schuster that I would prefer if they would give me [sic] my advance back for my next book and allow me to pick another publisher. So far, crickets. So far, I haven’t heard anything.
Levin also said that Bolton had previously begged him and Fox News’ Sean Hannity to lobby the Trump administration on his behalf because he wanted to be National Security Advisor.
“The Department of Justice should throw the book at him, because you cannot have a National Security Advisor who attempts to enrich himself, after he quits or he’s fired, by revealing all kinds of information — I’m not even talking about classified information, just confidential information you’re discussing with the President of the United States.”
Levin said that Bolton did not want Trump held “accountable,” but to make money.
“He wants to defeat him, and he wants to maximize his profits on this book. This was his opportunity.”
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His new book, RED NOVEMBER, is available for pre-order. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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