Hindi pinagbigyan ng isang judge sa Estados Unidos ang hiling ng administrasyon ni US President Donald Trump na itigil ang paglalathala ng memoir ni dating National Security Adviser John Bolton.
Una nang inihayag ng justice department na hindi raw nasuri nang maigi ang libro ng dating opisyal.
Pero ayon kay Judge Royce Lamberth ng US District Court sa Washington DC, hindi raw sapat ang naging argumento ng kagawaran para mapatigil ang paglalabas ng aklat, na may pamagat na “The Room Where It Happened.”
“For reasons that hardly need to be stated, the Court will not order a nationwide seizure and destruction of a political memoir,” saad ni Lamberth.
Sa kabila nito, inihayag ni Lamberth na maaari pa rin umanong maharap sa criminal liability si Bolton dahil sa ilang isyu, kabilang na ang pagsasapubliko ng ilang classified na impormasyon.
“Upon reviewing the classified materials, as well as the declarations filed on the public docket, the Court is persuaded that Defendant Bolton likely jeopardized national security by disclosing classified information in violation of his nondisclosure agreement obligations,” pahayag ni Lamberth.
Binanatan din ng hukom ang dating opisyal sa pagpipilit na ituloy ang publication kahit na wala pang pormal na pahintulot ang gobyerno.
“He opted out of the review process before its conclusion. Unilateral fast-tracking carried the benefit of publicity and sales, and the cost of substantial risk exposure. This was Bolton’s bet: If he is right and the book does not contain classified information, he keeps the upside mentioned above; but if he is wrong, he stands to lose his profits from the book deal, exposes himself to criminal liability, and imperils national security,” dagdag ni Lamberth. “Bolton was wrong.”
Ilan sa mga kontrobersyal na ibinulgar ni Bolton sa kanyang libro ay ang mga sumusunod:
- Ang umano’y paghingi ni Trump ng tulong kay Chinese President Xi Jinping upang manalo sa 2020 presidential elections.
- Sinabi umano ni Trump na “tama at nararapat” ang pagtatayo ng internment camps ng China sa Xinjuang region.
- Hindi umano alam ni Trump na dating itinuturing na nuclear power ang UNited Kingdom, at tinanong pa raw nito ang isang senior aide kung bahagi ang Finland ng Russia. (CNN/ BBC)
