Trump on Thursday called the book a compilation of lies and made up stories intended to make him look bad. But he never got a formal clearance letter, and the Trump administration contends that the book, titled The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir," still contains sensitive material. Ellis began his review of the Bolton book on May 2 at the behest of national security adviser Robert OBrien. It was initially cleared for publication by Army reviewers, but when spy agency reviewers took a look, they claimed it included classified information that could damage national security. Aftergood, the classifications expert, said the Bolton case has turned the governments little-known prepublication review process into national news.