John Bolton Is The Latest Former Trump Official to Land Lucrative Book Deal

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton became the latest ex-Trump administration official to sign a book deal this week, suggesting he may use that platform to unearth details amid an impeachment inquiry into his former boss.

Bolton has continued to float the possibility he has additional information for the impeachment inquiry and now reportedly has signed a $2 million book deal with Simon & Schuster after several weeks of negotiations. Bolton, who was ousted from the White House in September over foreign policy disagreements with President Donald Trump, is expected to have the book published before the 2020 presidential election next November, The Guardian reported Sunday.

There has been rampant speculation if Bolton will testify before the impeachment inquiry, particularly a reported incident where he referred to Trump's Ukraine discussions a "drug deal."

The House impeachment inquiry has repeatedly pushed Bolton's name to the top of discussion over allegations Trump pressured Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky with a quid pro quo involving military aid for dirt of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.

A letter sent last week from Bolton's attorney to the House Democrat-led investigators said the former national security adviser was "part of many relevant meetings and conversations" tied to the Ukraine allegations against Trump.

Bolton was known for being an aggressive foreign policy "hawk," which led Trump to claim in September that he often had disputes with his national security adviser. "In fact, my views on Venezuela, and especially Cuba, were far stronger than those of John Bolton," Trump tweeted. "He was holding me back!"

Bolton's 17-month tenure in the Trump administration ended in September with a bizarre exchange of tweets between himself and the president which muddled whether or not Bolton was fired or chose to leave.

"I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House," the president tweeted at the time. "I disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions, as did others in the Administration, and therefore I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning. I thank John very much for his service."

But Bolton disagreed with the president's version of the story, tweeting 12 minutes later, "I offered to resign last night and President Trump said, 'Let's talk about it tomorrow.'"

Trump went on to blame Bolton for his role in leading the U.S. into the war in Iraq in 2003 under the administration of President George W. Bush after his departure. Trump also criticized Bolton's "Libya Model" of denuclearization of North Korea in April 2018.

"It set us back, and frankly, he wanted to do things not necessarily tougher than me," Trump said. "You know, John's known as a tough guy. He's so tough, he got us into Iraq. That's tough."

Another ex-Trump administration member who departed in a frustrated manner in 2018, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis, also wrote a book that was published earlier this year, Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead.

James Comey, the former FBI director who was fired by Trump in 2017, later wrote a book A Higher Loyalty, that was published last year.

And former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is coming out with her new book With All Due Respect.

This is not Bolton's first book, having written two others, including one during his tenure as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations between 2005 and 2006. In 2007, Bolton penned Surrender Is Not an Option. And in 2010, he wrote How Barack Obama Is Endangering Our National Sovereignty.