Center for Security Policy President Fred Fleitz has called on former national security adviser John Bolton not to publish his upcoming book in an op-ed appearing on Fox News' website Monday.
“A book by a former national security adviser ahead of a president’s reelection bid may set a dangerous precedent since it could discourage future presidents from seeking advice from expert advisers on sensitive national security matters,” wrote Fleitz, who worked for Bolton several times in his government positions.
Fleitz stressed that “executive privilege exists to allow the president and other senior officials to keep certain communications and internal deliberations private if disclosing them would disrupt the functions or decision-making processes of the executive branch.”
Fleitz said that it was irresponsible to send the book to the "leak-prone National Security Council" for a security review last month in the middle of the impeachment process, saying this timing made a leak of the manuscript “all but certain.”
He added that if such a book should be published at all, it should not be during a presidential reelection campaign.
Fleitz, who called Bolton “an exceptional national security expert and a man of great integrity,” gave the example of former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who resigned in June 2011 and published a critical book, but waited until after the 2012 presidential election to do so.
Fleitz emphasized that “Gates established a principled precedent on how senior advisers to presidents should write about their experiences. Given Ambassador Bolton’s long and distinguished record of government service, I believe it is vital that he follow this precedent.”
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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