(TheRedWire.com) – It’s not uncommon for former administration officials to write books about their experiences in government service. Often, they reveal a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what happened during an administration. Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper’s new book, “A Sacred Oath,” is under scrutiny by the Department of Defense (DOD). The agency informed the former DOD head he couldn’t use parts of his experience in the book for security reasons.
Former U.S. 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 https://t.co/OBpI4ybHRj
— Reuters Legal (@ReutersLegal) November 29, 2021
On Sunday, November 28, Esper filed a lawsuit against the DOD for withholding parts of his memoir. The book focuses on the second half of former President Trump’s time in office. Esper served as Trump’s Secretary of Defense from June 2019 to November 2020. The former Defense Secretary claims the redactions of the manuscript were arbitrary. Esper’s attorneys argue the DOD struck out important parts of Esper’s manuscript using the pretense of secret classification.
In November 2020, Trump fired Esper over several policy differences. One of them allegedly included the former DOD head’s opposition to an idea Trump floated about using the military to assist civilian law enforcement to squash rioting, looting, and destruction of government property. Esper said the civil unrest occurred in the wake of the George Floyd murder at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.
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