Resistance (At All Costs): How Trump Haters Are Breaking America

by Kimberley Strassel

Wall Street Journal columnist and New York Times bestselling author Kim Strassel argues that the all-out "Resistance" has become dangerously reckless in its obstruction of President Trump.





Among the most consistent and aggressive criticisms of Donald Trump is that he is a threat to American democracy -- a human wrecking ball demolishing our most basic values and institutions. Resistance (At All Costs) makes the opposite case -- that it is Trump's critics, in their zeal to oppose the president, who are undermining our foundations.




From the FBI's unprecedented counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign, to bureaucratic sabotage, to media partisanship, to the drive-by character assassination of Trump nominee Brett Kavanaugh, the president's foes have thrown aside norms, due process and the rule of law.




Resistance (At All Costs) shows that the reaction to Trump will prove far more consequential and damaging to our nation long-term than Trump's time in office.




Instant New York Times bestseller.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Government, Audiobook, Business

235 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Bill Abell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute MUST Read

I’m not a big fan of “political” books. (This is not, actually, a political book.) The last good book, like this, that I read cover to cover, was “All the President’s Men”. (Yes, I am that old.) That book looked at the tragic events during the Nixon Administration through the rear view mirror. Resistance looks at the tragic, ongoing, pre and post 2016 Election activities through a high power microscope.

Strassel is not a Trump apologist. I am a Trump supporter, although he and I differ on many issues. Pre-GOP Convention, I was adamantly “Never Trump”.

This book is a lot of things - well written, well researched, interesting, compelling, current. That said, what it is most, is important - very, very, important.

This book exposes the astonishing, clandestine, efforts of the Deep State (I know first hand, it is very real.), Never Trump, and the media, to defeat Trump’s election, and, subsequently, remove him from office, “at all costs”.

The tragic activities vividly described in Resistance, should never, ever, happen in America. They should never happen anywhere! They are, however, happening right now, as you’re reading this.

Someone once said that the best defense against tyranny, is an informed citizenry. Strassel is a truly great patriot for informing us of this pivotal moment in our history. Take advantage of the monumental effort she and her team have made to render us an informed citizenry. You MUST read Resistance.

[L.A. Starks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strassel had the misfortune of her book's publication coinciding with that of Ronan Farrow's, the latter of which reasonably got gobs of interest on new #MeToo scandals.

This is a political book--as always, readers will either read it & like it or simply choose not to read it. I am not trying to persuade on the politics.

Strassel's investigation and reporting, of the many many out-of-bounds actions taken by those at the highest reaches of government who, three years on, still refuse to accept Trump's election, is cogent and illuminating, if depressing. It is less legally-focused than Andrew McCarthy's book (Ball of Collusion) so thus more accessible. Strassel draws on her very considerable sources and provides clear, conclusive analysis.

Highly recommended. Don't miss best/cutest-response-ever to the Mueller report from one of Strassel's children in the acknowledgements.

[Blaine DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A view of all the goings on in Washington as set forth by Wall Street Journal writer. So many names, so many breaking of rules and laws just because Donald Trump won the Presidency. I could go on and on, but rather if you prefer to get a view of what has gone on since 2016 from some other journalistic source other than 24-hour news TV or from NY or LA Times, etc. then give this a read. It is not going to make you love our President but it will make you open your eyes and see all the crap that goes on in DC. About 40 years ago I vowed not to go to DC and after reading this book I am happy that have I not returned. The place is a partisan cesspool with few people really doing the work they are elected to do and with many non-elected officials have way too much power and influence.

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading was rather dry for such a more usually incensed subject.

All of the reactions are observable to any American who had eyes and ears. Even the Constitution is being interpreted as up is down too now if any of it can stop a Trump objective.

She isn't my favorite author for this subject. She's too smart. But it should be core reading before any USA citizen votes in the next elections. The Swamp is truly ingrained and embedded to an extent that they would rather Americans suffer than lose any ion sized ingredient of their own entrenched partisan power. The American citizen Joe & Jane are the least regarded in any of their processes.

Every crisis is used regardless of who gets hurt- anything now is worth trumping Trump.

[Pat BlakeFlum · Rating 1 out of 5]

Right biased not

It would be beneficial to all if someone wrote an honest, Franklin analysis of President Trump. Ms. Strassel did not even attempt such an analysis. Rather, this book is a repetition of pro Trump biases and accusations against anyone who doubts he is anything but a gift to the USA. Sad waste of time to read her nonsense, unless, of course, one wanted a true example of fake news.

[Alan Fanning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most political books are written by people with a partisan axe to grind. Strassel is different. Sure she is conservative and she makes it clear, but she takes pains to avoid the kind of spin that the talking heads employ. Instead she takes us step by step, player by player, through the entire sordid tail of the anti-Trump conspiracy to overturn and de-legitimize the 2016 election - as a reporter who has followed this from the beginning. This is the most dangerous crisis that has faced this country in my lifetime - and she explains and illuminates it all. If anything, she pulls punches when it comes to the sheer perfidy of these deranged fools who seek to turn a republic into some third world, one party mobocracy.

Very quick read. Well sourced and gives the reader several useful sources for further investigation

[Manny · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you read the book solely for the introduction, it will be worth the time and price.

Left stated that Trump was not legitimate because he did not win the popular vote. This is a tired tale parroted over and over by the media and regurgitated by the leftists drones. The reason for the electoral college is because we are a representative republic. We are not a "democracy". In a TRUE democracy, Trump and all his supporters would be shot and killed based on the rhetoric. 51% could vote that the remaining 49% be killed. Without the EC, every election would chosen by CA, NY, and CH. All three which are bankrupts, have more crime than all other states and cities, and corruption is at an all time high in all three. Is that "fair"? Is that what "equality" looks like? Would there be a "urban privilege" then?

Obama got a bit of Fox News mileage with crazy conspiracy theories but even Fox killed them as quick as they were released. However the Trump Haters have run with insane, off the wall conspiracy theories and the mainstream media have not only given them airtime but have jumped on the crazy bandwagon. Ironically, the left always took the moral high ground calling out the right on "vitriol", "hate" and fear. However that lecture was apparently forgotten when Trump won in 2016. Fear mongering have been the order of the day since before he even stepped foot into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Presidential Pardon of Alpeio was attacked by the haters. However all other POTUS of past also had pardons that were questionable.

Obama was the most lawless POTUS and used executive orders almost exclusively after his first two years where he has the house and senate.

Many of the haters say Trump is a tyrant because he has gotten rid of laws and regulations, but tyrants don't get rid of rules. They add them.

The author paints the timeline of what transpired leading up to the FISA warrants. Anyone, regardless of party has to read this. If you are not utterly shocked, then you are part of the problem. Anyone that has followed my reviews or tweets knows that I am for each party holding their respective politicians accountable. I think if the corrupt politicians knew there were consequences to their actions, they would be hesitant to commit the crimes they do regularly.

It is painfully obvious that as the writing of this post, the current Congress has done nothing but try to reverse the results of 2016. Remember there WILL be a Democratic POTUS after Trump. The rules and laws being used against Trump today will be used against the Democratics in the future. History has shown that the Democratic Party is corrupt from the Mob days up until Obama's administration and even during Trump's administration. They will need to have a saint on their tickets else face the same wrath seen by Trump. Granted the media would "puff piece" us to death but I highly doubt others would have the ware with all to handle what Trump has during his tenure.

After reading this book, you have not choice but to admit that the Trump Haters, and the Left and The Media in general are doing everything in their power and outside of their power to reverse the 2016 election. It is painfully obvious to any racional, honest and principled person to see that the unfair treatment of this POTUS is unprecedented. I often wonder where we would be if the Left and the Right got together and supported this president. We would be even better than we are today. It is very sad. We have been bad stewards and have left this country in a worse state than we got it.

Market and Sciff demanded the un-redacted Muller report. So much so that they held in Contempt of Congress. They demanded he release Grand Jury information which is illegal (or should I say "undocumented") knowing good and well that it was impossible. However now the very same are saying they will NOT release any transcript of the testimony of the impeachment. How can the haters accept this hypocrisy? It's selective outrage. God help us all.

Amazing book. You should read this ASAP.

[Stephen J. Kohn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sad book

It is great but left stunned. I am a dedicated WSJ and NR reader so while little was surprising, the extent of the devious and self serving politicians and so called media people is revolting. The book is like bad tasting medicine. You must take it and hope and pray and be more involved so that things can get better.

Kim you are marvelous!

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hesitated reading this book only because of the title. I think the word Trump-hater diminishes what the book is meant to portray. However, Kimberley Strassel is a true journalist. She is a well-respected editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal. Her views are conservative but she is not afraid to disagree in principle with the current administration. In her preface Strassel does explain the meaning of the term Trump-Hater. Those individuals, both Republican and Democrat and a great deal of the media, who are so against President Trump that any praise for anything he has accomplished is seen as a “betrayal to America “. Still think there may be a better word but I do understand the type of person Strassel is portraying. Not sure why Hollywood types are given so much credence but the words of Bette Midler, Joy Behar and Robert DeNiro make them seem to fit Strassel’s criteria.
This book made me feel extremely sad. The political situation in our country seems hopeless. The book is well-documented, well-researched and equally horrifying. It reads as if it were a script for the tv series 24, which was popular a few years ago...corruption and scandalmongering within the government, political parties, the courts, and the media. I now see Devon Nunes and Adam Schiff in a whole new light. These men are truly opposites. There has been rampant manipulation of our Federal Institutions which should be held in high regard....all for a political motive. Just not sure how the republic recovers but it will have to start with “we the people”.

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not a defense of Donald Trump. The subtitle says it all: "How Trump Haters Are Breaking America." Kimberly Strassel of the the Wall Street Journal is an excellent reporter. The essence of her thesis is that Donald Trump will be President for eight years at the most, but what the Resistance, i.e. the Trump haters, are doing will cause far more lasting damage to the republic and its institutions. Highly recommended.

[Mike Manty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kim Strassel is one of the few remaining “journalists” commenting on today’s political scene. This book is a good summation of the major left wing initiatives to destroy the Trump administration.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

In December 2019, for only the third time in American history, Congress impeached a U.S. President. In a party-line vote, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives approved two Articles of Impeachment, accusing President Trump of “abuse of power” and “obstruction of Congress.”

Reasonable people have reasonable concerns about President Trump’s style and his often self-defeating tweets. Yet no one has been able to provide any evidence proving that President Trump committed an impeachable crime. The 675-day, $32 million Special Counsel investigation failed to find any evidence of alleged Russia “collusion” in the 2016 election. The House Impeachment Inquiry began by looking for “collusion” with Russia after the Mueller Report found none. Then they switched to accusations of bribery, then finally settled on “abuse of power” based not on evidence but hearsay, and “obstruction of Congress.”

No matter. As Congresswoman Maxine Waters said, “Impeachment is about whatever the Congress says it is. There is no law…” Waxing philosophical, the left claims that the real issue with the President is that he is “a threat to democracy.” They make the nebulous claim that President Trump is destroying American social and political “institutions.”

A recent article in The Washington Post by Joe Scarborough is typical. “Should we attach a bland label like ‘illiberalism’ to such a wretched public display when ‘fascism’ fits so much better?” he asks. Although he believes that one should “never” compare Trump to Hitler, he goes ahead and does so anyway, since “there are lessons that can be drawn from every era.” We can best understand America under President Trump, he claims, by studying “the erosion of democratic norms in Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey or Viktor Orban’s Hungary, or the further strengthening of China and Russia’s autocratic regimes.” In the end, he believes that America’s institutions—the “sinews of our democracy”—will survive the Trump era, “but why tempt fate?”

Many leftists conclude that, since President Trump is such a clear and present danger to America, any action that leads to his removal from office is, by definition, a good one. The end quite literally justifies the means. Some leftists have even taken this to the extreme of physical violence.

The result has been a “Resistance” that is systematically destroying the rule of law and American institutions, the very thing that they accuse the President of doing. Kimberley Strassel, an opinion columnist for The Wall Street Journal, has written a useful but sobering book that documents this destruction, Resistance (At All Costs): How Trump Haters are Breaking America. She shows how the real damage to the country and its institutions is coming from the thousands of government employees, politicians and their media enablers engaged in an unprecedented breaking of laws, sabotage of government functions, leaking of classified information to the press, attempts to rewrite election law, ignoring of legal precedent and even physical violence in the name of destroying President Trump.

In many ways, the “Resistance” is to politics what Antifa is to downtown streets. Like Antifa, members of the “Resistance” are not interested in solving actual problems. Rather, they wish to crash the system in the hope that out of anarchy and chaos, the “woke” left will defeat the right.

This corrosive process began long before the 2016 election, but since then has greatly accelerated. Most importantly, the book is not about President Trump per se. Strassel makes it clear that she is a conservative but with certain reservations about the President. She points out that our hyper-partisan political climate makes constructive criticism of President Trump or any political figure impossible. Her concern is that the “Resistance” is causing very real, permanent harm to America and her institutions that will last long after President Trump leaves office in 2021 or 2025.

A journalist by profession, Strassel’s book is very accessible. She calmly and thoroughly covers every major phase of the anti-Trump “Resistance”: the FBI counterintelligence investigation of the Trump campaign, FBI and Congressional obstruction, the Mueller investigation, the House Intelligence Committee investigations under Rep. Adam Schiff, the avalanche of lawsuits and judicial activism, and of course the infamous Kavanaugh Senate hearings.

Strassel’s chapter on former FBI director James Comey is particularly troubling. FBI probes into both the Clinton and Trump campaigns of 2016 broke all the internal FBI rules for investigations. Comey possibly broke the law when he spied on the Trump campaign based on a dossier of accusations against Trump that he knew was both full of falsehoods and paid for by the Clinton campaign.

Most Americans might not know that the FBI has a thick manual—the Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide—that lays out standard operating procedures to protect Americans’ privacy and civil liberties. It contains rules for surveillance, collecting foreign intelligence and how to use “least intrusive methods” when conducting an investigation. These guidelines were thrown out the window by James Comey when, for the first time, he opened a counterintelligence investigation into a presidential campaign. The FBI even planted an informant in the Trump campaign. As Strassel put it, “A non-Russian professor [Joseph Misfud] repeated something to a third-tier campaign aide [George Papadopoulos], who repeated it to a random diplomat, who repeated it to the FBI. On this basis, we get a probe of a presidential campaign?”

Strassel gives many other examples. Nearly everyone who went to jail as a result of the FBI and Mueller Special Counsel investigations was found guilty of “process crimes.” A good example is Gen. Michael Flynn, President Trump’s first National Security Advisor. The FBI found no evidence of Russian “collusion” by any Trump official, so instead, Comey sent FBI agents to try to ensnare administration officials like Flynn. The FBI had already interviewed Flynn about his dealings with Russia, with transcripts. When they interviewed him a second time, they asked him very leading questions trying to coax him into contradicting himself so they could charge him with perjury, which is what they did. The FBI was motivated by bias against the Trump administration and not a desire to investigate an alleged crime.

In the past, the FBI enjoyed a warm relationship with Congressional committees. No matter if the Republicans or Democrats controlled Congress, issues of national security were above party. Now, Republicans have to use subpoenas to force the FBI to hand over even the most trivial of documents, and even then only after weeks and months of delay.

Another casualty is attorney-client privilege. It is an ancient principle from English Common Law that protects all communications between a lawyer and his client from the justice system. Robert Mueller bulldozed over this legal institution when he raided the office, home, and hotel room of President Trump’s personal lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen, looking for incriminating evidence.

It is impossible to deny the existence of a fifth-column in the government. The left freely admits, even boasts, of this “Deep State” as a valuable ally in their political war against the President. On NBC’s Rachel Maddow Show, Senator Chuck Schumer said, “You take on the intelligence community—they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you.” A government bureaucracy that wages political warfare against a duly-elected chief executive should frighten all Americans who cherish the rule of law.

Strassel’s proposal for a solution to this crisis is for Americans to get more engaged with their government. That is certainly not a bad thing. Unfortunately, the political crisis runs much deeper than voter apathy. Whole swaths of the electorate cheer the illegal acts of obstruction done by the “Deep State” resistance. America is witnessing not the excesses of a few hotheads but a political insurrection in progress.

In the eyes of American conservatives, the “Resistance” is destroying respect for law enforcement. Strassel cites statistics that show a sharp increase in distrust for the FBI among Republican voters, traditionally those most likely to trust and respect law enforcement agencies like the FBI. The “Resistance” has permanently poisoned this respect, harming the mutual trust between the citizenry and law enforcement that is necessary for a healthy society.

For many conservatives, it is tempting to reduce America’s political crisis to the “Deep State” itself. By “draining the swamp,” some believe, the nation can defeat this rebellion. Unfortunately, it is a complex problem that has no simple solution. America is witnessing not a political fight, but a great philosophical and even a religious war between two Americas. On the one side are the forces of disorder, subversion, and anarchy that seek to turn the country into a socialist nightmare akin to Venezuela or Cuba. On the other side are those who defend truth, tradition, the rule of law, and God’s order rooted in the Ten Commandments. Conservative, God-fearing Americans cannot hope to win unless they see this fight in those terms.

[Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a while now I have felt that one of our biggest problems in America is our inability to discuss politics in a calm, reasonable manner. We seem only interested in making our point. A political discussion too often degrades quickly into two one-way heated diatribes. I realized that to work on this problem I had to look no further than myself. My motivation? I thought life could be a lot more interesting if I could learn to enjoy and learn from these political discussions, and perhaps in my own way I could contribute a little to creating an on-going political conversation.

In this effort one of steps I have started to take is to read articles and books that don't necessarily align with my political point-of-view. While I began as a conservative, I have definitely become more liberal in my views as I have gotten older. I am also not a Trump supporter, however, my first point here is that this is not a book about Trump. It is a book about how liberal America has reacted to Trump's election and Trump's presidency. If you read this book thinking it is about Trump or his presidency, you will be disappointed. And while I expect that Strassel agrees with some of Trump's policies, I don't get the impression she agrees with him or his administration across the board.

For me this book was a learning opportunity. It was a chance to look at this country and its conservative and liberal factions from a different perspective and from a perspective different than mine. With that intent reading this was a success. This book is well-researched and documented; the arguments and points are made, for the most part, logically and reasonably. A lot of what I learned I believe will help me in conversations in the future. For instance, I recognize now that some Americans, including a lot of conservatives, care as much about this country operating within the legal boundaries of our democracy as they do about promoting a particular policy issue. That is something I agree with as well. I learned, not surprisingly, that "effecting change" through a bureaucracy is as difficult, if not more difficult, in the federal government as it is in a large corporation, and when that bureaucracy does not support the change, either subtly or adamantly, it is extremely difficult to make that change happen. And I learned that sometimes we react strongly to a communication style just because it is not what we are used to and not what we have come to expect, and you need to look beyond that.

Where I struggled with this book is that Strassel was making an argument, not just describing political events, and in doing so she really only presented those events and incidents that supported her points. It was clear that she did not like how Obama and his administration operated, and I understood where she was coming from, but her argument would have been stronger, in my opinion, if for instance she had contrasted the way in which liberal America has reacted and resisted the Trump presidency to how conservative America reacted to Obama's presidency. But then I am always going to be more convinced if I am presented with both sides of an argument. To me the approach you take depends on who you are writing for. Are you writing for those readers who already agreed with you before they to picked up your book, or are you trying to persuade those who come to the book with a very different point of view.

Regardless, I found this book very educational. I think I understand this country and a broader range of Americans a little bit better as a result of reading it. And, yes, I did pay for the book. In fact, I ended up buying two copies, an Audible version and the hardback. I always find it funny when someone says they are not going to buy something because it would mean giving money to someone they disagree with.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Resistance (At all Costs) should be required reading before anyone votes.

[Tom Rodenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all open minded Americans. At times infuriating,at times terrifying. Always absorbing

[Jim Becker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Strassel in the WSJ and I wanted to read a book by her. What a surprise. This is not a book which is pro-Trump. It's a look at how Democrats and other Resisters have tried to destroy a presidency at any cost. At any cost! Terrible.

Very good read. I listened to it while running (on Audible). I'd come home from a run just shaking my head at what has gone from the minute the election was over.

[John Boyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very helpful read! Strassel provides a concise political history of the first 2 years of the Trump presidency and how the radical left has declared no holds barred in order to defeat him. From the FBI to the DOJ to the Press to the Democratic Party, all are involved in ending this presidency in any means necessary and our republic has been damaged as a result of it. Such a good read for those interested in politics and very recent history.

[Chris Carson · Rating 1 out of 5]

The far right author, and tRump apologist seems to want to ignore the many threats tRump presented during his presidency. She didn’t know how his term would end - maybe she can do a postscript on TREASON - but there was enough evidence of his many failings that she completely ignores or misrepresents.

[Jerry A. Lebo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best yet

The most comprehensive and informative coverage to date of what is going on Washington DC and why. Ms. Strassel's understands the long term damage the Trump haters are doing to our country and communicates it clearly and effectively. A must read!

[Bobbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book detailing the outright lies and fake news pushed by liberals trying to destroy Trump

[Peter Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please give my Amazon review a helpful vote - https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...

I write this review as the hyper-partisan House Democrats are poised to file articles of impeach against Donald Trump.

Last week, the Democrats had three hyper-partisan anti-Trump law professors make a political case against Trump based on, apparently, their collective belief that Trump wants to crown himself king. (Seriously, what was that crack about making Barron Trump a baron, about?) It's all incoherent and doesn't represent anything I learned about constitutional law at UCLA Law School back in 1983.

The hyperpartisan Democrats permitted a single law professor for the Republicans. Jonathan Turley announced that he had voted against Trump - so not a single witness could be described as a Trump support. However, Turley's comments mirror the theme of this book, which is that the Democrats are destroying the unwritten rules and restraints that have permitted our constitutional democracy to function. Turley pointed to the partisan behavior of the impeachment and the absence of a crime or evidence of a crime and pointed out that there would be a time when the shoe was on the other foot. When it is, then we will step lower and lower into destabilizing the country.

Author Kimberly Strassel ended her book before we got to this point. I think she stopped her narrative in the summer of 2019, but what she describes is a piece with what a real liberal like Jonathan Turley has described, the Left is destoying the county.

This book is incredibly useful for pulling together the evidence and flicking out the spin and disinformation that the Democrat/Left/Media has consciously injected into the narrative of the events of the last three years. I've been casually following along with the Democrat/Left/Media hysteria about "Russian collusion," but I had nowhere near a coherent picture of what was going on. I've considered the Democrat/Left/Media to be unhinged and silly. I had generally dismissed the subject on the basis that "there is no there there," which was conclusively demonstrated by the Mueller Report, so I have never gotten into the weeds. Frankly, I didn't believe that the Democrat/Left/Media was serious about their claims.

Maybe they are not serious, but they are certainly malicious.

Strassel shows us how the Democrat/Left/Media have been engaged in "battlespace preparation" while their opponents haven't even known that there was a game on. For example, based on my experience with psychopaths and liars, I noticed that they were planting the "Republicans paid for the Steele report" from the earliest point. This was clearly a lie, and has been proven a lie, but what I didn't know, and what Republicans did not know, was that the Democrat/Left/Media knew that a coterie of politicized bureaucrats - let's call them the "Deep State," for convenience - knew that the Steele Report had been weaponized for a intelligence operation against the Trump campaign. As Strassel points out, this information was disclosed by the FBI to Obama to Congressional Democrats long before Republicans had any idea what was going on.

Another example is how the Democrat/Left/Media began a smear campaign against Devin Nunes before Trump was inaugurated for the purpose of taking him out of operation on the Intelligence Committee. They were succesful and are trying again. Now, that we know that these odd and weird accusations are not accidental, but the carefully planned actions of a coordinated enemy, we can see how much the Democrat/Left/Media fears Nunes.

Strassel catalogs the destruction of the American political system, including the unprecedented bullshit of the Kavanaugh hearing, James Comey's use of his powers to blackmail politicians, the clearly partisan manipulation of the Mueller investigation and the rest.

If you are an average American, this should be a white-knuckle read. I found myself gripping the book in rage as I listened to how the incompetent, stupid Democrat/Left/Media elites are squandering two centuries of traditions designed to restrain America from becoming a Banana Republic.

Too late. Let's have Strassel provide a few examples:

"The Logan Act is an ancient law that criminalizes negotiation by unauthorized persons with foreign governments that are in dispute with the United States. Only two defendants have ever been charged under the Logan Act—the more recent one in 1852—and neither was convicted. It is absolutely normal for members of a presidential transition team to talk to their foreign counterparts, and on all manner of subjects. Yet the Obama administration seized on the Logan Act as a pretext to escalate its investigation of the Trump team and to further fan the Russia-collusion flames. Indeed, it was on Logan Act grounds that Comey’s FBI set about entrapping Flynn. On January 24, mere days after he was sworn in, Flynn got a call from Deputy FBI Director Andy McCabe, ostensibly to talk about an FBI training session. But then McCabe slipped in that he felt the FBI needed to have a few agents talk to Flynn about his Russia communications."

And:

"This is another way that Democrats have been destroying the norms that made government policy.

Prior to Schiff as chairman, the Intelligence Committee was known as the one committee that serious hard-working Congressmen sat on to jointly work on serious issues.

//Yet none of this held a candle to the behavior of California Representative Adam Schiff, who managed in a few short months to destroy the reputation of one of the last grown-up committees in Congress. For decades, the House and Senate Intelligence Committees had held themselves out as a redoubt of reasonableness and bipartisanship. Only serious members tended to ask to serve in these hard posts, and only serious members tended to be named. Committee members prided themselves on putting national security ahead of partisan politics and generally refusing to undercut one another.

Schiff, the ranking member under Nunes, officially ended all that. When Nunes exposed the information about Obama administration unmaskings, Schiff chose to berate the Republican rather than treat the information seriously. This was startlingly partisan, given that for years Democrats had made an issue about government spying, privacy, and civil liberties. The left had blown a gasket over the Republican authorization of metadata, which merely allows the government to collect telephone numbers—no names, and no eavesdropping. And Oregon Senator Ron Wyden in 2013 had introduced a bill to strengthen the ban on reverse targeting, for fear the government would use surveillance of foreign citizens to listen in on Americans. Yet now with clear proof that the Obama administration had abused its unmasking authority, Schiff moved to shoot the messenger."

Worse still, last week, we had the pathetic example of Schiff using "reverse engineering" to monitor fellow intelligence committee member Devin Nunes and reporter John Solomon's phone records, and then release that private information to the public in the Democrat's report. This unprecedented, although the media - not interested in playing referee - has made no comment. When the shoe is on the other foot, then, certainly, the media will be roused to action, but who will care then?, inasmuch as the Democrats will have set a precedent and the media will have proven its corruption.

This was a nice country, but it will not work if everyone is not willing to play by the spirit of the rules.

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last time I sat down to write a review of a Strassel book, I started out with a synopsis, but ended up typing out a rant. This time I’ll restrain myself.

Go ahead and read the blurb that GR uses as a synopsis. If you read it and already agree, this book will give more examples that may just aggravate you further. But if you read the synopsis and think that the premise is nuts, you should read this book and have your eyes opened.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I'm a newshound, Strassel's summary of the events of the last 4 years still held surprises for me. There are about 20 unanswered questions about who did things to the current administration, and the FBI Director has a moral obligation to get to the bottom of these criminal acts. Strassel should do a Fox News Special, "20 Crimes" or "20 Unanswered Questions" to summarize these troubling illegal acts by swamp denizens. After reading this book, I'm convinced Wray should go and the FBI needs a director who is not promoted from the DC or any East Coast office.

Under Obama, people went to jail for leaking. Under Trump, the FBI was leaking with no one jailed. Although we've known for a while that Comey is slimy, Strassel makes it clear he's VERY slimy.

Perkins Coie clearly broke the law when it was hired by the DNC to create a false narrative about Republicans by floating fiction as fact all over DC. It's amazing that no one at Perkins Coie has been disbarred or jailed, and somehow Perkins has never answered "Who is THE person how hired you?"

I hope that one day I can buy Devin Nunes lunch. He's a good person working on important issues who is regularly attacked in an effort to derail him. I did not known the FBI attacked Nunes, not for doing anything wrong, but because when Nunes was revealing the truth, it made the FBI look bad. The FBI was bad. Strassel correctly points out that the FBI's obstruction of the truth coming out has permanently stripped the FBI of its Teflon coating. "[The Mueller probe] had never been anything more than the co-option of our democratic institutions to smear a political opponent."

With regards to the impeachment hearings going on this week, Strassel points out something I didn't know. "Nadler claimed that all he wanted was 'evidence' as part of his 'investigation' into 'abuses of power' by Trump. Yet every day Nadler did his level best to ensure he did not obtain information."

Strassel does a great job of summarizing the corruption of the press. "All reporters sometimes bend a rule; they obscure a source more than normal or go out further on a limb. But the important thing is that they usually do this in aid of getting truth to the public. What defined the media breakdown that started in 2016 was their destruction of standards in aid of peddling a fiction--the Trump-Russia collusion narrative."

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is a great summary of the views of many pro-Trump people, especially regarding the attacks and criticism of Trump itself, and why many see the campaign against Trump as unprecedented in American history. In many ways, this is true, and it is also true that many of the tactics used by Trump critics are completely atypical and without parallel. The book, however, brushes aside all criticism of Trump, saying that it is the prerogative of the President to act as he chooses, and for everyone else to accept. It therefore mostly avoids any criticism of Trump, and whether a strong reaction against him is justified. Still, an interesting read, and a solid book for getting out of the echo chamber of Trump criticism.

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

FINALLY !!! It took someone like Kimberley Strassel to write a perfect book like this. I've read a bunch of books covering the topic of the whole "Trump-Russia-media-resistance-FBI-DOJ-etc-etc." topic. Almost all other books I've read on these topics always seems to get overwhelmed with all the names and dates and thus the book becomes difficult to read and follow. Kimberley Strassel does an AWESOME job covering everything and putting into layman's terms without getting swamped (no pun intended) by names and dates. 5*****STARS

[Burma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contemporary topics and insights into the insanity plaguing those who disagree with leftist philosophies and their attempts to overturn an election. Well written, researched, and insightful. Love Kim Strassel.

[JOSE A MAZON · Rating 5 out of 5]

SUCCINCTLY WRITTEN. IT IS HIGHLY INFORMATIVE

Succinctly well written and highly informative. Persuasive, although it could use a few quotes. I hope that she wrote at least one more book. Keep up the 👍work, Kimberly🙈🙉🙊 Happy Halloween!

[Bert Hopkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all Americans. The corruption of the Democratic Party is both very sad and astounding! This Is NOT the Democratic party of neither my parents' nor Presidents Truman and Kennedy!

OBTW Kimberly is a gifted writer.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing book! For those who are unfamiliar with true journalism, this book is an excellent example. Should be required reading in all high school or college writing classes.

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

the opposite of openess, in with distrust lies fake.