McCarthy slams Bolton book, says it’s a national security risk

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) blasted John Bolton’s upcoming book on Thursday, claiming that the former Trump national security adviser sensationalized his accounts of his time serving in the administration for monetary gain.

Excerpts of Bolton’s book — which has already shot to the top of bestseller lists ahead of its release —  include explosive allegations that President Trump attempted to solicit help from Chinese President Xi Jinping to win reelection, floated attempting to jail members of the press and said that it would be “cool” to invade Venezuela.

The White House has denied these accusations.

McCarthy noted that during Bolton’s tenure, the former adviser asserted the Trump was strong on foreign policy toward China, arguing that his comments now signal the book isn’t factual.

“What I see from that, and having known John Bolton in that job, unfortunately, though it disappoints me, it looks as though he wants to make money — sensationalism,” McCarthy told reporters Thursday.

The California Republican went on to say that Bolton’s allegations in the book puts the country’s national security at risk, agreeing with the administration’s decision to attempt to block its release. 

The Department of Justice is also suing Bolton over claims that the book contains classified information. 

“Knowing Bolton and what he cares about foreign policy, to go forward and to give an advantage to another nation that could have an opportunity to find out where sources came from, to put America in jeopardy in some manner without letting the Intel work through it is appalling to me,” he continued. “I can’t believe that that would go on. He should take a step back. Money drives a lot of people to say a lot of things.”

While top GOP lawmakers have slammed Bolton for the tell-all book, he has also faced criticism from Democrats, who have slammed the former Trump official for refusing to testify during impeachment proceedings.

“President Trump is clearly ethically unfit and intellectually unprepared to be the president of the United States. That doesn’t seem to matter to the Republicans in the United States Senate. It didn’t seem to matter to John Bolton,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said during a press briefing on Thursday. “He chose loyalty over patriotism. And so he’s going to make money off of his book, I guess.”

Bolton has also caught heat from House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who slammed the former national security adviser for refusing to testify during the impeachment inquiry, saying, “He’s no patriot.” 

Bolton’s book is set to be released next week.