Washington - President Donald Trump's
lawyer said on Thursday he would try to stop publication of a
book that portrays an inept president in a fumbling White House
and threatened legal action against former top aide Steve Bannon
over "defamatory" comments in the book.
"Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" by author
Michael Wolff set off a political firestorm with its portrayal
of Trump as not particularly wanting to win the U.S. presidency
in 2016 and unprepared for the job.
Some of the harshest commentary came from Bannon, the
right-wing firebrand who headed the final stage of Trump's
campaign and became chief strategist at the White House before
being fired in August.
Charles Harder, Trump's personal lawyer, in a legal notice
provided to Reuters, warned of possible claims including libel
against Wolff and publisher Henry Holt & Co and threatened to
try to block publication of the book. Harder also told Reuters
that "legal action is imminent" against Bannon.
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Henry Holt said in a statement it had received a
cease-and-desist letter from Trump's attorney but would go ahead
with publishing the book.
Earlier, the publishing house said that "due to
unprecedented demand," it would release the book on Friday
morning, rushing it to print after previously planning to put it
out next Tuesday.
Wolff did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump cut ties with Bannon on Wednesday, saying his former
adviser had "lost his mind," in a blistering statement issued
after comments attributed to Bannon in the book were made
public.
I authorized Zero access to White House (actually turned him down many times) for author of phony book! I never spoke to him for book. Full of lies, misrepresentations and sources that don’t exist. Look at this guy’s past and watch what happens to him and Sloppy Steve!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2018
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders heaped scorn on Bannon
and the book at her briefing on Thursday. She said Breitbart
News should consider firing Bannon and attempted to cast doubt
on Wolff's accuracy.
She called the book "some trash" that came from "an author
that no one had ever heard of until today."
"This book is mistake after mistake after mistake," she
said.
Trump lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter to Bannon on
Wednesday asking him not to disclose any confidential
information. They said Bannon had breached an agreement by
communicating with Wolff about Trump, his family and the
campaign and made "disparaging statements and in some cases
outright defamatory statements" about them.
In the book, Bannon was quoted as describing a June 2016
meeting with a group of Russians at Trump Tower in New York as
"treasonous" and "unpatriotic." The meeting, held after the
Russians promised damaging information on Democratic
presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, was attended by Donald
Trump Jr., Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort,
Trump's campaign manager at the time.
Trump's statement also diminished Bannon's role in the
election victory and accused him of leaking to the media. Before
joining the campaign, Bannon headed the conservative Breitbart
News website and proved to be a divisive figure in the White
House. He returned to Breitbart after being fired, although he
is reported to have continued to talk with Trump.
Bannon's reaction to the book controversy has been muted. In
interviews with Breitbart News after the news broke, he called
Trump a "great man" and pledged continued support for the
president's agenda.
The president took note. "He called me a great man last
night so he obviously changed his tune pretty quick," Trump told
reporters on Thursday. "I don't talk to him. That's a misnomer."
Bradley Moss, a Washington lawyer specialising in national
security law, said any non-disclosure agreement would not apply
to Bannon once he became a government employee. The government
has far less power to limit speech by employees than private
companies, Moss said.
A lawsuit could hurt Trump because Bannon's lawyers would be
entitled to interview White House officials and collect
potentially damaging documents from them in his defense, Moss
said.
"I assume the cease-and-desist letter is aimed primarily at
the public," added Michael Dorf, a professor at Cornell Law
School. "The idea that he could block publication is absurd."
On Thursday, the White House also said no personal devices,
including cellphones, would be allowed in the White House West
Wing beginning next week for security purposes. The moves
followed the Bannon split but had been considered for some time,
White House officials said.
Bannon helped Trump shape a populist, anti-establishment
message and had been the president's link to his hard-line
conservative base of support, which is often at odds with the
Republican Party establishment.
The story that triggered the Trump-Bannon split was an
offshoot of the investigation into whether Trump campaign aides
colluded with Russia to sway the election to Trump, allegations
Trump and Moscow deny.
Manafort and business associate Rick Gates, another campaign
aide, pleaded not guilty in November to federal charges brought
by Special Counsel Robert Mueller including conspiracy to
launder money. Manafort sued Mueller on Wednesday, alleging that
his investigation exceeded its legal authority.