A lawyer for President Donald Trump demanded on Thursday that the author and publisher of an explosive new book about the White House stop releasing material and retract and apologize for excerpts already published.

In a letter to journalist Michael Wolff and publisher Henry Holt & Co., lawyer Charles Harder accuses them of publishing "false/baseless statements" about the president. He makes claims including defamation and invasion of privacy related to the new book, "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House."

The letter warned of a possible lawsuit that could lead to "substantial monetary damages and punitive damages."

The book was not set for release until Tuesday, but its publication got moved to Friday due to what Henry Holt called "unprecedented demand." Excerpts published Wednesday featured fiery quotes from former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and potentially embarrassing depictions of life and work inside the White House.

"Mr. Trump hereby demands that you immediately cease and desist from any further publication, release or dissemination of the Book, the Article, or any excerpts or summaries of either of them, to any person or entity, and that you issue a full and complete retraction and apology to my client as to all statements made about him in the Book and Article that lack competent evidentiary support Wolff and Henry Holt and Company did not immediately respond to requests for comment," the letter reads.

In a statement, Henry Holt director of publicity Patricia Eisemann confirmed that the company got the cease and desist letter but would go on with publishing the book.