True Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Investigation of Donald Trump

True Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Investigation of Donald Trump by longtime CNN legal analyst and contributor to The New Yorker Jeffrey Toobin analyzes Trump\’s survival in the face of two major investigations during his first years in the presidency and analyzes whether the character traits of Trump, which were often successful in deflecting and avoiding the crises his presidency faced will be effective for him to survive the coronavirus pandemic. IF you are a fan of Toobin\’s other books, or his opinions as an analyst, then you will appreciate this book. It offers interesting insight and analysis, and Toobin\’s voice is apparent throughout. If you are interested into delving into the Trump term, look no further.

Excellent and very readable book. I would have expected nothing less since I\’ve listened to this educated gentleman discuss various legal topics with balance and clear legal explanations for the lay person like myself. Thank you for writing this important book now at this particular moment in our country\’s democracy. We must pay attention to this factual reporting to understand what is really happening in our country.

Jeffrey Toobin has a talent for making current events into compelling (and informative) reading. In his latest book, Toobin tackles two of the most important events in recent American political history: the Mueller Investigation, and the impeachment of Pres Trump. Toobin gives the reader a fascinating and detailed behind the scenes perspective on the personalities, as well as the complex legal and political issues, involving Robert Mueller\’s investigation into Russia\’s extensive efforts (and possible Trump campaign cooperation) to support Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Toobin reveals some details about Russia\’s use of social media platforms which I have not seen before. But the basic question for Toobin is why Mueller\’s investigations and findings did not result in serious consequences for Trump. The mystery revolves around why Mueller did not try harder to question Trump in person under oath, and also why he failed to \”follow the money\”. In addition, Mueller seemed reluctant to pursue what appeared to be a strong case of obstruction of justice against Trump. Consequently, with the help of Attorney General Barr, Trump declared himself \”exonerated,\” and then launched his aggressive extortion (my word) campaign against Ukraine to seek help with his reelection. Toobin\’s reporting presents a devastating portrait of Trump as obsessed with pursuing his narrow self interest, with little or no concern for the country and its people. In the latter part of his book, Toobin gives a concise, useful narrative of the impeachment hearings in the House, and the subsequent Senate trial. I found this book to be a real life horror story about an American President who goes rogue, in part due to the failure of others in government, especially Republican Senators, to stop him. Overall, this well-written and incisive book makes clear what the stakes are in the upcoming election.

When historians begin the long process of assessing the full scope of the damage done by Donald Trump, his Administration, and his Congressional enablers to the United States and the world they will turn to a handful of the books produced during the darkest moments of the debacle. One of the most valuable of those resources is Jeffrey Toobin\’s meticulous and scathing account. As with Toobin\’s other accounts of events in the Clinton and Obama Adminsitrations, True Crimes And Misdemeanors: The Investigation of Donald Trump is thoroughly researched, well written, and above all brutally honest. Toobin\’s book deals with most of the Trump Administration\’s years in power, with special emphasis on the Mueller Investigation, the revelations of Trump\’s efforts to trade US assistance to Ukraine for damaging information on Joe Biden, and the subsequent investigation that led to impeachment and the Senate trial. It\’s a bleak and often repulsive story, and Toobin emphasizes that by letting Trump and his enablers speak for themselves, quoting tweets, letters, and interviews (being sure to clearly delineate the lies). The book often made me as a patriotic American cringe, but that\’s a good part of its value: revealing the full incompetence, venality, and pure viciousness of Trump and his accomplices. And as a patriot I found much to be proud of as well: the courage and innate nobility of such men and women as Robert Mueller, Fiona Hill, Marie Yovanovitch, Adam Schiff, and many others. I found the final chapter, the end of which is devoted to quoting much of Trump\’s ranting speech at the National Prayer Breakfast shortly after his Senate acquittal, and the epilogue which recounts Trump\’s mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic, especially powerful. The last few years have been dark ones in the United States, and accounts like Toobin\’s are essential for helping us understand what happened, and (it is to be hoped,) prevent anything similar from happening in the future.

JT is a legal analyst and journalist with a law degree. This book goes into detail about President Trump and especially Ukraine. He looks at the Mueller Report and is critical of him of blinking rather than subpoenaing Trump or his tax returns. He says the Special Inquiry did a fantastic job in the time they had, but the 2 crucial things they did not do let everyone down. JT does what many have given up doing ie. quoting Trumps statements and tweets but then going through them with a fine tooth-comb. Thus he makes it clear that they are virtually logic-free and usually fact-free. You get to understand why Comey said he bites bits of your soul until in the end he owns it. Although Comey is criticised for breaking the FBI rules and conventions over Hilarys emails, as said A Weissmann in his book, Where Law Ends. Trump rarely deals in texts and email as he doesnt want a paper trail which would prove all his lies. He operates via phone and like a mob boss through implicit suggestions for Plausible Deniability. In his written replies to Muellers questions , failed to recall 22 times and had no recollection 14 times. JT takes you through the shenanigans by the Senate Republicans in protecting Trump even though they know hes guilty. In other words, they put party before conscience, country and constitution. The Impeachment process is laid out and gone through even though all knew he would be found Guilty in the House and Not Guilty in the Senate. One witness stated that, Trump is only interested in the big stuff, not Ukrainian deaths, or laws but only his re-election. This is what Sondland, Ambassador for Ukraine, stated to other civil servants after hearing a discussion Trump had with him. The Republican senators wanted to talk about procedures, whereas the Democratic senators wanted to talk about Trumps conduct. The Republicans knew its difficult to defend the indefensible. JT goes into some detail to prove that Barr, the US Attorney General, is the second most dangerous man in America. Barrs letter on the Mueller Report; the letter was an obvious and unjustified act of sabotage against Mueller and an extraordinary bequest to the president.Mueller forfeited the opportunity to speak clearly about Trumps crimes, and Barr filled the void with his sycophantic and high-volume exoneration. JT makes it clear that the good old days of bipartisanship of the Nixon days are gone and Mueller still lives in that world. But some people can maintain their code and adapt to the demands of a changing world, Mueller couldnt . He also talks about Barr trying to get the Flynn case dismissed even though Flynn had pleaded guilty, never done before by an Attorney General. (Ive noticed that Trump no longer says, where is my Roy Cohn?). One chapter is headed by a quote by Bobby Kennedy, Moral courage is rarer than bravery. By this I understand it where a Nazi soldier does an incredibly brave act in the middle of an action winning the Iron Cross. However, that soldier standing up to the state, becoming a conscientious objector, and refusing to fight is moral courage. JT talks about government employees standing up to Trump, becoming witnesses and losing their careers as a result. He compares this with the Republican senators who would have found a Democratic president guilty to a man. In the EPILOGUE he says, Mueller chose not to plumb Trumps psyche or his bank accounts or tax returns..anyone can commit a crime, only a president can undermine the Constitution. Trump did commit a crime, obstruction of justiceTrump has no great passion on the issues, no policy agenda that he was determined to enact..the only verdict that has ever mattered to Trump is the one rendered on Election Day. PS. The MINUTE MEN should have been called the MICHIGAN MILITIA.

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