After Bolton submitted his book for prepublication review last last year, it was Ellen Knight’s job at the White House to make sure it did not contain classified information that could possibly threaten U.S. national security. The Trump administration maintains that it contains classified information, and the Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into its release. But the judge expressed concern that Bolton published the book before receiving a formal clearance letter, which Knight said was blocked by the White House. During that time, she and her staff handled more than 135 prepublication review requests, perusing more than 10,000 pages of manuscripts. Two days later, in a White House Situation Room meeting with four Justice Department attorneys, she learned for the first time that Ellis, a political appointee with no prepublication review experience, had been ordered to conduct a second review.