John Bolton denied Tuesday that his new memoir, "The Room Where It Happened" contains any classified information, as President Donald Trump and the White House have claimed, saying he never intended to put any classified information in it.
"I spent my life professionally trying to advance American interests and that has continued in the process of the book," the former national security adviser told Fox News' "Special Report" with Bret Baier. "There's a certain point where everyone hears these things in the White House that become [common] and that's a real part of the problem in the Trump administration. It happened so often that it deadened sensitivity."
Bolton further discussed the claims he made in his book concerning Trump and China, including his contention Trump had told President Xi Jinping to move forward with building concentration camps in China to detain more than a million Uighurs, a Muslim ethnic minority in that country.
"That is what was reported both out of stock and previous conversation between Xi Jinping and the president, by the interpreters who heard it being said," Bolton said.
"Are you sure that's what was said? " asked Baier.
"It's consistent with his approach to human rights in China generally," Bolton said. "Even though, for example, he recently signed congressional legislation which consolidated sanctions and authority he already had, not just a few days ago."
Bolton also commented on a passage in the book describing a dinner meeting outside of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, when he claims Trump was pushing Xi to buy more agricultural products to help him out in his 2020 re-election bid, a claim others have denied, including U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who rejected his complaints under oath.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also labeled Bolton as a traitor and said he openly celebrated when Bolton left the White House, noted Baier.
Bolton wrote that Pompeo shared his views on North Korea, Iran, and China, but he said in the Tuesday interview the secretary remains trusted because he does not try to persuade Trump on many matters.
"Even in issues where he thought the president was moving in the wrong direction, he would just stop trying to persuade him and stop trying to fix what was clearly a problem, and I think his political future is very much tied to the Trump administration," Bolton said. "I can understand what he's doing."
Baier pointed out people in South Korea are also not happy with the book, as they believe it violates the principles of diplomacy and could damage further negotiations, but Bolton said there is an obligation to "write the truth," or it will cause a "disservice to the people" who could change matters.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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