'Fire and Fury' Going on Sale Four Days Early Due to Demand

The publisher of Michael Wolff’s new book — Fire and Fury, about President Donald Trump’s first year in the White House — is rushing it onto bookshelves four days early. White House officials allowed Wolff an enviable amount of access to the West Wing all last year.

“Due to unprecedented demand, we are moving the on-sale date for all formats of ‘Fire and Fury,’ by Michael Wolff, to Friday, January 5, at 9 a.m. ET, from the current on-sale date of Tuesday, January 9,” a Henry Holt spokeswoman told CNN. This move came hours after Trump demanded the book not be released and sent a cease-and-desist letter to Henry Holt and Wolff after excerpts were published. The letter alleged the book excerpt contains “false/baseless statements” about Trump, and the term “actual malice” was used, raising the prospect of a libel or defamation case.

Excerpts from the book have been published by New York Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter and GQ. They contain shocking quotes and claims about the White House’s “chaos” and “incompetence,” and add disturbing new details to what has previously been reported by other outlets. Some of the reporting has been corroborated, but according to some, the book contains errors. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders called it “fantasy” and fiction on Thursday.

Wolff tweeted about the early release. The book is already number one on Amazon.