An attorney for Donald Trump has sent a "cease and desist" letter to Steve Bannon. The former White House strategist is accused of making "defamatory statements" in a new book on the presidency to be published Friday.
Bannon is cited repeatedly in Wolff's upcoming book "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," which was due to hit the shelves next week but has seen its publication date pulled forward to Friday.
Harder also threatened legal action against Bannon for his "disparaging statements and in some cases outright defamatory statements" on Trump's family and campaign team.
On Thursday evening, Trump took to Twitter to again dismiss the book's revelations, saying they had no validity.
"I authorized Zero (sic) access to White House (actually turned him down many times) for author of phony book," Trump said. "Full of lies, misrepresentations and sources that don't exist. Look at this guy's past and what happens to him and Sloppy Steve."
'Fire and Fury': A look inside Donald Trump's White House
Even before publication, a new book by American journalist Michael Wolff has triggered anger in Washington. Based on interviews with high-ranking officials and Trump himself, it offers a rare view into the White House.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/B. Anderson
'Fire and Fury'
Excerpts published by US and British news outlets from American journalist Michael Wolff's new book "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" about US President Donald Trump's administration have offered a look into the inner workings of the White House. From finding comfort in McDonald's hamburgers to Ivanka's presidential dreams, here are some excerpts from the book.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/B. Camp
'Melania was in tears'
"Shortly after 8 p.m. on Election Night, when the unexpected trend – Trump might actually win – seemed confirmed, Don Jr. told a friend that his father, or DJT, as he calls him, looked as if he had seen a ghost. Melania was in tears – and not of joy. There was, in the space of little more than an hour ... a befuddled Trump morphing into a disbelieving Trump and then into a horrified Trump."
Image: picture-alliance/AP/V. Mayo
Ivanka Trump the 'first woman president'?
"Balancing risk against reward, both Jared (Kushner) and Ivanka decided to accept roles in the West Wing over the advice of almost everyone they knew ... Between themselves, the two had made an earnest deal: If sometime in the future the opportunity arose, she'd be the one to run for president. The first woman president, Ivanka entertained, would not be Hillary Clinton; it would be Ivanka Trump."
Image: picture-alliance/AP/M. Sohn
Finding comfort in fast food
"He had a longtime fear of being poisoned, one reason why he liked to eat at McDonald's – nobody knew he was coming and the food was safely pre-made."
Image: Instagram
Bannon's theories
"The real enemy, (Bannon) said, was China. China was the first front in a new Cold War. China's everything. Nothing else matters. We don't get China right, we don't get anything right. This whole thing is very simple. China is where Nazi Germany was in 1929 to 1930. The Chinese, like the Germans, are the most rational people in the world, until they're not."
Image: picture-alliance/AP/B. Anderson
Bannon: Donald Jr. was 'treasonous'
"(Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner and campaign manager Paul Manafort) thought it was a good idea to meet with a foreign government inside Trump Tower in the conference room on the 25th floor – with no lawyers … Even if you thought that this was not treasonous, or unpatriotic, or bad shit, and I happen to think it's all of that, you should have called the FBI immediately," Bannon said.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/C. Kaster
'Losing was winning'
"Once he lost, Trump would be both insanely famous and a martyr to Crooked Hillary. His daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared would be international celebrities. Steve Bannon would become the de facto head of the tea-party movement ... Melania Trump, who had been assured by her husband that he wouldn't become president, could return to inconspicuously lunching. Losing was winning."
Image: picture-alliance/AP/B. Anderson
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'You should have called the FBI'
In remarks shared in US and British media, Bannon criticized a meeting between Donald Trump Jr., his son-in-law Jared Kushner and a Russian lawyer in 2016. Trump's son was led to believe that Moscow might have compromising information on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. The meeting also included Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner as well as then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
"The three senior guys in the campaign thought it was a good idea to meet with a foreign government inside Trump Tower in the conference room on the 25th floor — with no lawyers. They didn't have any lawyers," Bannon reportedly said.
"Even if you thought that this was not treasonous, or unpatriotic, or bad s***, and I happen to think it's all of that, you should have called the FBI immediately," he is quoted as saying.
In response, Trump said that his former aide had "lost his mind" after leaving the White House in August 2017. "Now that he is on his own, Steve is learning that winning isn't as easy as I make it look."
On Wednesday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president was "furious" and "disgusted" by the claims presented in the book. She said that Michael Wolff's account contained "completely false claims against the president, his administration and his family," and described it as "trashy tabloid fiction."
