First published 2022
Geoffrey Berman takes on the prestigious role of US Attorney for the Southern District of New York in 2018, appointed by Donald Trump himself. He leads some of America's finest legal minds in pursuing cases of global significance. Almost immediately, Berman faces pressure from Trump's Justice Department to bring weak cases against political enemies while abandoning strong cases against the president's allies. When Bill Barr becomes attorney general, the interference grows worse instead of better. Berman walks a careful line, declining political demands tactfully enough to avoid firing while protecting his office's independence. For two and a half years, he resists corruption attempts while his team takes down major criminals including Jeffrey Epstein, Lawrence Ray, Big Pharma executives, and criminal syndicates. They also work to return Nazi-looted art to rightful owners. Eventually, Trump and Barr lose patience with Berman's principles and fire him, though he refuses to leave quietly and blocks their attempt to install a more compliant replacement. This memoir reveals the battle between prosecutorial integrity and political interference at the highest levels of government.
Genres: history, crime, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 21st-century, government, law, american-history
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: corruption, government-interference, whistleblower
Setting: New York, Southern District of New York
Period: 2018, 2020
352 pages · Hardcover · Penguin Press