First published 2025
The Justice Department faces its greatest crisis in modern history as Donald Trump transforms America's top law enforcement agency into a political weapon. Pulitzer Prize winners Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis expose how Trump pressured officials to protect him while targeting his opponents. The authors reveal the internal chaos as prosecutors grappled with unprecedented attacks on legal norms and FBI agents retreated under pressure. Special Counsel Jack Smith races against time to investigate Trump's handling of classified documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 election, but his team's strategic decisions ultimately fail. The department struggles to recover from years of political manipulation while Attorney General Merrick Garland's delayed investigations allow Trump to escape accountability. This investigation shows how partisanship and propaganda have damaged the institution meant to uphold the rule of law, threatening the foundations of American democracy itself.
Genres: 21st-century, investigative-journalism, current-affairs, political-thriller, legal-thriller, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: abuse-of-power, corruption, political-intrigue
Setting: America
Period: Modern History
768 pages · Paperback · Random House Large Print