<p>Former US Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Sunday filed a lawsuit against the Department of Defense for withholding parts of a memoir about the time he spent in the administration of Donald Trump.</p>.<p>The book, <em>A Sacred Oath</em>, sheds light on events that occurred during the second half of Trump's presidency, Esper said.</p>.<p>The Department "arbitrarily" redacted the manuscript after he submitted it to DoD officials for review, he said in a statement.</p>.<p>"Significant text is being improperly withheld from publication ...under the guise of classification. The withheld text is crucial to telling important stories discussed in the manuscript," Esper's lawsuit, filed in a federal court, said.</p>.<p>Esper served as Trump's defense secretary from June 2019 to November 2020, when he was fired over a range of differences on policy issues.</p>.<p>They included Esper's public opposition to Trump's threats to use active duty military forces to suppress street protests over racial injustice after police killed George Floyd in Minneapolis.</p>.<p>The DoD did not immediately respond to a <em>Reuters </em>request for comment sent during overnight hours.</p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>
<p>Former US Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Sunday filed a lawsuit against the Department of Defense for withholding parts of a memoir about the time he spent in the administration of Donald Trump.</p>.<p>The book, <em>A Sacred Oath</em>, sheds light on events that occurred during the second half of Trump's presidency, Esper said.</p>.<p>The Department "arbitrarily" redacted the manuscript after he submitted it to DoD officials for review, he said in a statement.</p>.<p>"Significant text is being improperly withheld from publication ...under the guise of classification. The withheld text is crucial to telling important stories discussed in the manuscript," Esper's lawsuit, filed in a federal court, said.</p>.<p>Esper served as Trump's defense secretary from June 2019 to November 2020, when he was fired over a range of differences on policy issues.</p>.<p>They included Esper's public opposition to Trump's threats to use active duty military forces to suppress street protests over racial injustice after police killed George Floyd in Minneapolis.</p>.<p>The DoD did not immediately respond to a <em>Reuters </em>request for comment sent during overnight hours.</p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>