Bolton attorney claims draft manuscript was improperly accessed

Bolton's attorney Charles Cooper submitted a draft manuscript of the forthcoming book to the National Security Council on December 30, 2019, he said in a statement Sunday.Cooper said he submitted the manuscript on Bolton's behalf despite "our firm belief that the manuscript contained no information that could reasonably be considered classified."Cooper also comes close to confirming the accuracy of the Times report, alleging that the "prepublication review process has been corrupted" and that "information has been disclosed by persons other than those properly involved in reviewing the manuscript."Bolton's attorney also provided CNN with a copy of the letter he sent to the National Security Council's senior director for records management. In the letter, Cooper suggests that the NSC official assured him that "the sole purpose of prepublication security review is to ensure that SCI or other classified information is not publicly disclosed."Cooper provided the manuscript to NSC with the understanding that "the process of reviewing submitted materials is restricted to those career government officials and employees regularly charged with responsibility for such reviews." (CNN)