Bannon Threatened by Trump’s Lawyers
A legal notice to journalist Michael Wolff–author of the forthcoming book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House–has been released yesterday in an effort to stop publication on the expose. The letter demands that the publisher, Henry Holt & Co., should “immediately cease and desist from any further publication,” according to The Washington Post.
Trump’s legal team also directed accusations at former White House adviser Steve Bannon, particularly for breaching a “confidentiality agreement,” in reference to his conversations with Wolff while the book was still being composed. Trump issued a statement later that afternoon, explaining: “Steve Bannon has nothing to do with my presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind.” Bannon’s only response to the harsh words was that Trump is a “great man,” which he shared on his morning radio show.
So why is this book sparking drama?
According to BBC News, Fire and Fury alleges several explosive claims– including that Bannon believes that Donald Jr.’s meeting with Russians was “treasonous.” Wolff collected information for Fire and Fury from over two-hundred interviews with White House insiders. Wolff wrote for The Hollywood Reporter that nearly everyone he spoke to while writing the book agreed that Trump was unfit for presidency.
Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders publicly dismissed the book as a “trashy tabloid fiction.” Excerpts of the book have been released in New York Magazine, which was Wolff’s main gig along with Vanity Fair. The book is set to be released January 9, 2018.