(Bloomberg) -- White House officials interfered in the review of former National Security Advisor John Bolton’s tell-all memoir for “a seemingly political purpose,” according to the government official who conducted the first review of the manuscript.

On one occasion, a National Security Council staffer urged the official to temporarily delay a response when Bolton asked to expedite the review of a chapter on President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine so it could be publicly available during the impeachment trial, according to the filing on behalf of Ellen Knight.

The filing in federal court in Washington on Wednesday, which was written by Knight’s lawyer, came in a U.S. lawsuit seeking to seize the proceeds from Bolton’s book, “The Room Where it Happened.” The book was published in June after the government failed in a last-ditch effort to block publication.

The government has argued that Bolton violated nondisclosure agreements when he released the memoir without completing a pre-publication review to ensure the book didn’t contain classified information. Bolton counters that he fulfilled his obligations under two non-disclosure agreements by clearing the book with a senior official and that the U.S. was simply dragging its feet to prevent the book from going out.

Earlier this month, amid reports that the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the book’s publication, Bolton denied breaking any laws.

A hawkish former diplomat who served as Trump’s top national security aide from April 2018 until September 2019, Bolton is highly critical of his ex-boss in the book. He depicts Trump as ignorant and incurious about U.S. foreign policy except where he sees the potential for personal political gain.

(Updates with background on case)

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.