White House tells Bolton his manuscript has classified material, cannot be published

The White House has informed former national security adviser John Bolton that his book manuscript appeared to contain "significant amounts of classified information" and could not be published in its current form.

The letter from the White House National Security Council to Bolton's attorney, Charles Cooper, and seen by Reuters, said the manuscript contained some material that was considered "TOP SECRET."

"Under federal law and the nondisclosure agreements your client signed as a condition for gaining access to classified information, the manuscript may not be published or otherwise disclosed without the deletion of this classified information," the letter said.