President Trump is using hardball tactics in an attempt to blunt the impact of Michael Wolff’s bombshell-filled book about his administration.
Attorneys representing the president sent a cease-and-desist letter to Wolff and his publisher, Henry Holt, on Thursday morning.
The legal letter, a copy of which was obtained by CNNMoney, demanded that the publisher “cease and desist from any further publication, release or dissemination” of the book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.”
The letter is a serious escalation in Trump’s war against media outlets. Some journalism advocates said Trump’s tactic was disturbing and compared it to an attempt at censorship. Others said the threat would backfire and help sell even more copies of the book.
It comes after Trump’s lawyer sent a letter to former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, who is quoted in the book saying unflattering things about Trump and his family, threatening to sue him.
Trump has a long history of challenging opponents with cease and desist letters. He also has a reputation for threatening lawsuits but not following through.
Henry Holt had no immediate comment on the legal threat. Wolff did not respond to a request for comment.
The publisher will almost certainly dismiss the letter and move forward as planned.
Thousands of copies of “Fire and Fury” have already been shipped to bookstores, and some news outlets have already obtained copies. The book is scheduled to be released to the public next Tuesday.
When quotes from the book leaked out on Wednesday, it immediately soared to #1 on Amazon’s best selling books list. The pre-orders reflect intense interest in the subject matter.
It seems Trump is belatedly trying to extinguish that interest — even though some of his top aides gave Wolff unprecedented access to write the book last year.
The legal effort on Trump’s behalf is led by Charles Harder, an entertainment industry litigator best known for leading Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker.
Harder has also represented Trump and his wife Melania in the past. He reportedly represented former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes as well. And Harder also briefly represented Harvey Weinstein, and threatened on his behalf to sue the New York Times. No suit was ever filed, and Harder left Weinstein’s legal team less than two weeks after making the threat.