by Lee Smith
First published 2019
Lee Smith chronicles how Congressman Devin Nunes and his House Intelligence Committee investigators uncovered what the author characterizes as a coordinated effort to sabotage Donald Trump's campaign and presidency. Smith argues that the real threat to American democracy came not from foreign interference but from domestic operatives within intelligence agencies, law enforcement, and media organizations. The book traces how the FBI's counterintelligence investigation, officially launched on July 31, 2016, allegedly targeted Trump rather than actual Russian agents. Smith presents Nunes as the key figure who recognized that the operation threatened democratic institutions themselves. Drawing on his access to Nunes and the investigative team, Smith portrays their work as a fight against entrenched interests using surveillance and media coordination to protect their power. The author frames this as a battle between corrupt Washington elites and those defending constitutional principles, with Nunes emerging as an unlikely hero from California's agricultural heartland who took on the establishment.
Genres: history, american, political-science, politics, non-fiction, 21st-century, current-affairs, american-history
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: conspiracy, corruption, whistleblower
Setting: California, United States, Washington
Period: 2016, 21st-century
360 pages · Hardcover · Center Street