The Room Where It Happened

This article is about the memoir by John Bolton. For the song from the musical Hamilton, see The Room Where It Happens.

The Room Where It Happened:
A White House Memoir
AuthorJohn Bolton
PublisherSimon & Schuster
Publication date
June 23, 2020[1]
ISBN9781982148034
Trump–Ukraine scandal
A request by U.S. President Donald Trump (right) to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left) to investigate Joe Biden and his son sparked the scandal.
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The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir is a memoir by John Bolton, who served as National Security Advisor for U.S. President Donald Trump from April 2018 to September 2019.[2][3] Bolton was reportedly paid an advance of $2 million.[4]

In late December 2019, one copy of the manuscript was provided to the White House for standard pre-publication review. In late January 2020, during the Senate impeachment trial, news of the book broke. Bolton's team was surprised that multiple copies of the manuscript had apparently been made and circulated.[5] Leaked information about the book's contents increased the pressure for having Bolton testify in the Senate trial of Trump.[6]

According to Bolton's original draft manuscript, William Barr and Bolton had a conversation about concerns Trump had appeared to have undue influence over two US Justice Department investigations of companies in China and Turkey; specifically regarding China's paramount leader Xi Jinping with regard to ZTE and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with regard to Halkbank.[7][8][9] Bolton alleged that Trump, in an attempt to win re-election in agricultural states in the 2020 election, "[pleaded] with Xi to ensure he'd win. [Trump] stressed the importance of farmers, and increased Chinese purchases of soybeans and wheat in the electoral outcome". (Bolton also wrote that he wanted to directly quote Trump, but could not due to "the government's pre-publication review process".) He also stated that Trump asked if Finland was a part of Russia, and was unaware the United Kingdom is a nuclear power. Bolton alleged Trump intervened in U.S. law enforcement and practiced "obstruction of justice as a way of life."[10][11]

On June 16, 2020, the Trump administration sought to block release of the book by Simon & Schuster,[12] contending that Bolton had breached nondisclosure agreements he signed as a condition of his employment and that the book endangered national security.[4] U.S. federal judge Royce Lamberth denied this request on June 20.[4] On June 21, pirated copies of the book appeared online.[13] The book was released on June 23.[14] Later that summer, the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into whether the book revealed classified information, empaneling a grand jury that subpoenaed the publisher's communications records.[15]

The book is named after the song "The Room Where It Happens" from the 2015 stage musical Hamilton.[16]

  1. ^ Lippman, Daniel (April 29, 2020). "Bolton book release pushed back again, to late June". Politico. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  2. ^ Reid, Paula; Becket, Stefan (January 27, 2020). "Report: Bolton book says Trump tied Ukraine military aid to Biden probe". CBS News. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  3. ^ Weiland, Noah (January 26, 2020). "5 Takeaways on Trump and Ukraine From John Bolton's Book". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Spencer S. Hsu, U.S. judge declines to block release of book by former national security adviser John Bolton Archived February 9, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, Washington Post (June 20, 2020).
  5. ^ Brigham, Bob (January 27, 2020). "Bolton book leaked after the White House made copies of the single manuscript they were given: report". The Raw Story. Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  6. ^ Ballhaus, Rebecca; Hughes, Siobhan (January 27, 2020). "Pressure Grows for Bolton to Testify at Impeachment Trial". Msn.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  7. ^ Lipton, Eric; Rappeport, Alan (January 28, 2020). "Bolton Book Puts New Focus on Trump's Actions in Turkey and China Cases". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  8. ^ LeBlanc, Paul (January 28, 2020). "New York Times: Bolton wrote he was concerned Trump was granting favors to autocratic leaders". CNN. Archived from the original on March 1, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  9. ^ "Libro de John Bolton: 4 revelaciones sobre Trump en las polémicas memorias cuya publicación quiere impedir la Casa Blanca" (in Spanish). London: BBC. June 18, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  10. ^ Baker, Peter (June 17, 2020). "Bolton Says Trump Impeachment Inquiry Missed Other Troubling Actions". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference nydnbolton was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference nyt-haberman-benner was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference theap was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Libby Cathey, Bolton book releases Tuesday even as judge says his profits might be seized, ABC News (June 23, 2020).
  15. ^ Benner, Katie (September 15, 2020). "Justice Dept. Opens Criminal Inquiry Into John Bolton's Book". The New York Times.
  16. ^ Truitt, Brian (June 18, 2020). "Lin-Manuel Miranda throws 'Hamilton' shade at John Bolton's Trump book title". USA Today. Retrieved July 19, 2020.