The Plot to Betray America: How Team Trump Embraced Our Enemies, Compromised Our Security, and How We Can Fix It

by Malcolm W. Nance

***NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER***
AN EXPLOSIVE , REVELATORY ASSESSMENT OF THE GREATEST BETRAYAL IN AMERICAN HISTORY
William Barr · Paul Manafort · Michael Cohen · Steve Bannon · Rudy Giuliani · Mitch McConnell · Roger Stone · George Papadopoulos · Jeff Sessions · And More!
When former FBI Director Robert Mueller III was assigned to the Special Counsel investigation looking into the possibility of Russian interference in the 2016 US election, many Americans felt relieved. But when the report was delivered in April 2019, it was clear that the case was far from closed-and pinning Trump down on conspiracy charges was going to be a lot more difficult than it had first seemed.
In The Plot to Betray America, Malcolm Nance, New York Times bestselling author and renowned intelligence expert, reveals exactly how Trump and his inner circle conspired, coordinated, communicated, and eventually strategized to commit the greatest act of treachery in the history of the United States: compromisingthe presidential oath of office in exchange for power and personal enrichment.
Seduced by the promises of riches dangled in front of them by Vladimir Putin, the Trump administration eagerly decided to reap the rewards of the plan to put a Kremlin-friendly crony in the Oval Office. And instead of interfering, the Republican Party's faithful William Barr, Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen, Steve Bannon, Rudy Giuliani, Mitch McConnell, Roger Stone, George Papadopoulos, and Jeff Sessions among others did everything they could to facilitate Trump's damage to national security to fill his own pockets. Through in-depth research and interviews with intelligence experts and insiders, Nance charts Trump's deep financial ties to Russia through his family's investments, including those of Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner, and the corrupt behavior of his other double-crossing pro-Moscow associates.
Only by untangling the spider web of personal and financial relationships linking the White House to the Kremlin can we start to free ourselves from the constricting clutches of our foreign adversaries and work to rebuild our fractured nation.
In this geopolitical page-turner, The Plot to Betray America ultimately sketches the tracks and blueprint of the Trump administration's conspiracy against our country-and how we can still fight to defend democracy, protect our national security, and save the Constitution.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Government, Historical, Audiobook, American History

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 12, 2019

About the author

Malcolm Nance is a globally recognized counter-terrorism expert and Intelligence Community member who has been deployed to intelligence operations in the Balkans, Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa.

He is the author of several best-selling counter-terrorism and intelligence books, including The Plot to Hack America, Defeating ISIS: Who They Are, How They Fight, What They Believe, and The Plot to Destroy Democracy.

Reviews

[Anthony Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick glance at any bestseller list will show that the market is currently a glut of anti AND pro 45 books. Some are more even handed than others, but even the most rabid reader on either side is, at this point, getting a little fatigued by the diametric furor. With such a quickly revolving news cycle and such a fire hose of new information, it is daunting for writer and reader alike to organize, make sense of and communicate the facts in a clear and unbiased way. Part of the problem, I think most would agree, is the utterly splintered views on what the facts actually ARE. Each citizen must decide on their own, where to pull information from and what to believe. While Malcolm Nance is quite passionate in his presentation, he also has a thick section of footnotes for any reader to peruse, which support his statements and conclusions. To take Nance to task for fiery or even borderline hyperbolic language is amusing, considering the tone and tenor of pro 45 books, articles and screeds available to the public. The current resident of the White House, and the vast majority of those who support him are nothing if not bombastic, pugnacious and myopic in their attitude towards anyone they disagree with. Malcolm Nance has a strong opinion, which he backs up with a litany of facts, not to mention a hefty resume in intelligence and foreign policy analysis. Citizens having the freedom to agree or disagree publicly with our leaders and point out where we think they have erred is why America has been great since its inception. Huzzah, U.S.A. Now, what is this book about?

I kind of feel bad for ANY author attempting to write a book about the current administration. As mentioned, so much happens, so quickly, it's difficult to coherently report on one day of happenings, let alone an entire year. Nance's book is about the period of time beginning with 2015/2016, up until very early 2019, ending with the release of the Mueller report. It focuses on the minutiae and micro-details of the current administration's campaign, first years of the current term and specifically about each individual involved in significant known and less well known events.

Some of this information has been covered in Nance's previous two books, but if you are looking for ONE book that covers the entire administration from the start up until early 2019, this is the one to get. It's a top down look at how Russia worked with the current administration to subvert our system of democracy to help one candidate get elected, no matter the cost - as well as a look at the spying, double dealing, large scale grifting and other assorted shenanigans that have gone on since 2015.

When I pre-ordered this book I was half expecting it to go into Ukraine-gate and detail some of the more recent revelations, but I can see why Nance didn't even bother to go there. He was submitting this book to the publisher when the Mueller report was released, and it makes more sense to just do an entire new book about Ukraine and the ongoing impeachment process. That's a whopper in itself.

All in all, this is an impeccably researched, written and edited book. If you are interested in this subject you should buy this book now. If, however, you are suffering from 45 fatigue, you can probably just follow along with the current news cycle and hold on for dear life. If you do decide to read The Plot to Betray America, you might want to read Nance's other related books first. You don't have to, to enjoy this one - and some of the material is rehashed, but they read as a trilogy. Together they present a through line on the political landscape of the past half decade and beyond. For armchair political wonks or those who just like to dig down into the nuance and detail of political scandals, Nance's reporting is hard to beat.

This is not a fun book to read, but it is an important book that lays bare the oftentimes complicated, obfuscated, through-the-looking-glass inner workings of one of the most bizarre and terrifying political campaigns and office holders in the history of the United States. Not everybody wants to see how the sausage is made... but if the sausage smells funky and doesn't look right - it might be time to start asking questions.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Retired Navy Admiral William McRaven says it much better than I can:

Dear Mr. President:
Former CIA director John Brennan, whose security clearance you revoked on Wednesday, is one of the finest public servants I have ever known. Few Americans have done more to protect this country than John. He is a man of unparalleled integrity, whose honesty and character have never been in question, except by those who don’t know him.

Therefore, I would consider it an honor if you would revoke my security clearance as well, so I can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency.

Like most Americans, I had hoped that when you became president, you would rise to the occasion and become the leader this great nation needs.

A good leader tries to embody the best qualities of his or her organization. A good leader sets the example for others to follow. A good leader always puts the welfare of others before himself or herself.

Your leadership, however, has shown little of these qualities. Through your actions, you have embarrassed us in the eyes of our children, humiliated us on the world stage and, worst of all, divided us as a nation.

If you think for a moment that your McCarthy-era tactics will suppress the voices of criticism, you are sadly mistaken. The criticism will continue until you become the leader we prayed you would be.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really respect Malcolm Nance who I see often on TV as an Intelligence and Counter Intelligence expert with 35 years experience. I have read all three books and have learned from all 3. But if you can read only one expose of Trumps perfidy in office, I’d highly recommend this one. Well researched, well written, and, unfortunately, right on the mark as to what Putin is doing and has done to influence the US election, and what he is doing in 2020 to make certain his “useful idiot” (an Intelligence word, not mine) succeeds (or maybe he is a “witting asset” ) Either way, a great book. Can’t wait to see how it ends this year.

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent summary of Trump and Russia. It helps if you know some of the names involved.

Here is one of the worst examples. Think about this one. Can you imagine any Democrat doing this? Can you imagine this coming from a so-called "conservative"?:

1. Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin held a strategic summit in Helsinki. Before that they met privately in Hamburg, Germany. All press and staff were excluded. The notes of the American translator were destroyed. (Isn't that criminal behavior?)

2. In Helsinki, Trump forbade the presence of any staff once again and met Putin for two hours. Only the interpreters were present. Her notes were taken. She was forbidden to reveal what was discussed.

3. And how about this meeting with the disgusting Russian foreign minister Lavrov and Ambassador Kislyak.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/w...
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-w...

The end result? He got away with it all.


Here is a quote from Ezra Klein, Vox editor at large:
"Basically all democratic theory is based around the idea people have a roughly accurate and shared view of what's going on. What if they don't?"

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a plethora of books these days about the Trump presidency. Why read this one?
Nance has been in front of the crowd in this and the last two books he has written about the Trump administration and the Russian campaign to destroy democracy around the world.
I found this book to be a great compilation of material prior to the now current impeachment effort. He takes a great number of stories that have been episodically reported in the press and placed them in context with a compelling time line. As an example, it seemed likely to me that Jared Kushner got bailed out on his terrible purchase of 666 5th Avenue in NY for $1.8 billion. Nance gives a timeline of activities surrounding this as Kushner and Trump use political influence such as American foreign policy vis-a-vis Qatar to get someone to shoulder the lump sum mortgage payments that were coming due. Of course, in general, the book is chock full of stories of Russian connections and influence in the Trump administration.
The book is well researched with copious footnotes and well worth the read to summarize the corruption of our government up to roughly the middle of 2019. If you are interested in one book to give an appreciation of what has really been happening, this is the book for you.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read. Hard to stomach. This tells the tale of Trump and his team. All have ties to Russia and Putin and his people. The story is disgusting (I wish I told take out my brains and eye balls and put them in the washing machine to clean them) but needs to be told. Mr. Nance is very clear in what he writes. He has his documentation. I knew it was bad but I did not know it was this bad. I had hoped that there were men of integrity, honesty, and honor somewhere in this story. The only one I found seemed to be Don McGahn, the White House attorney. The rest were dirty from before day one. Mr. Nance does leave us with some hope at the end. I hope we listen to him.-

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's all a conspiracy and Nance knows it all. So isn't he one of "them"?

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chilling, dismaying and frustrating. People who have drunk the Trump koolaid won't read this or believe it if they do.

[Abigail Bok · Rating 3 out of 5]

Malcolm Nance, retired naval intelligence-turned-author and TV commentator, has produced a useful chapter-and-verse narrative of everything (up to the middle of 2019) you need to know about Donald Trump's relationship with Russia, both before and after his election. It's thoroughly and almost mind-numbingly detailed, researched, and documented. The story is not a pretty one, though it is pretty damning.

Nance is at his best when he is in "brief" mode, laying out the known facts. That aspect of this book makes it an important document for future historians to study. He also provides a helpful list identifying all the players in this drama, which would be more useful in a hard copy of the book than it was in my ebook, which doesn't offer live links in the text for the names (it does for the footnotes, so his massive amount of background reading and watching is accessible). The list of players is so long that the Russians get their own section. The combined back matter is so massive that the actual text of the book ends at 75 percent. It is all very factual and can be taken at face value as accurate, so long as you're not a devotee of Alex Jones (or RT).

The book stumbled for me on a few fronts. One is style-and-editing. It reads like something that was narrated into a dictaphone (that ages me--voice recognition software?) and transcribed, with little follow-up editing. The typos are many, misused words quite a few, clunky repetitions in the same paragraph occasional--and the paragraphs are e.n.d.l.e.s.s. The author needed to do a serious extra pass over the manuscript, and he needed a strong-minded copy editor he trusts. Those issues sometimes disrupted my concentration as I plowed through material that requires a lot of concentration.

When Nance is on task, he's very convincing--rigorous, sophisticated in his understanding of spycraft and opinion manipulation. But when he sets out to interpret a different Nance emerges, one with a schoolboy sense of what patriotism and patriotic values mean, and (although I share those values) he sounded hyperbolic to me, using simplistic tropes and fervid language that would, I fear, fail to convince those who might need convincing. His application of the word treason in the title and the text is one such area of overreach. By the very legal definition of the word given at the beginning of the book, it feels excessive. (We are not actually "at war," at least not as the statute intends.) Not that I think Trump incapable of acts of treason--in fact, I live in daily expectation of seeing them before the end of this year--but that's not the kind of vocabulary I would use for the material covered in this book, and the use of it and other scorched-earth verbiage weakens Nance's case. What is here is plenty bad enough without hyping it. I came away thinking that Nance does better using that kind of talk on TV and should avoid putting it in a book.

Once the narrative had reached its end I was happy to see a chapter on what we as a nation can do about our Trump problem and, more important, our Russia problem. Sadly, it was a vague and sketchy affair, offering little beyond better education (good luck with that) and practicing more skepticism about what we're fed on social media (my solution is to stay off social media, unless you count Goodreads).

In sum, this is a valuable resource documenting the actions of our president and the moths that flutter around his flame (or flaming ego), but it has some tiresome nonsubstantive flaws that make it a bit of a slog to read.

[Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well researched and annotated expose of the international crime syndicate that is the Trump family, and of the leader thereof who slavishly serves and admires the documented murderers who rule North Korea, Russia and Saudi Arabia. Trump accepts the murder of Americans because the murderers buy or might buy weapons from the US, or write love letters to him. A very sick situation for our nation.

[Lori Pellnitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read!

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Malcom Nance has written an excellent, interesting, informative, and well documented book on the disaster that is the Trump presidency. A phenomenal book that exposes Trump and his family for what they are and it is shocking. This book is based on facts, not opinion. Before are Democracy and Constitution are thrown down the gutter read this book. Wake up America listen to Malcom Nance. The details are frightening and the American voters made a huge mistake with this guy. One quote that will stick with me came from a retired Navy SEAL Admiral William McRaven who oversaw the operation to take out Osama Bin Laden had this to say about Trump: "A good leader tries to embody the best qualities of his or her organization. A good leader sets the example for others to follow. A good leader always puts the welfare of others before himself or herself. Your leadership, however, has shown little of these qualities. Through your actions, you have embarrassed us in the eyes of our children, humiliated us on the world stage and, worst of all, divided us as a nation."(p.225) Thank you Malcom Nance for writing this book.

[Daniel Magyar · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's written far better than the last book I've read, (Warning, by Anonymous, not recommended btw.) and I'm only just finished the first chapter. I'll post my complete thoughts on it, again when I've finished it.

Just finished today, stunning for the amount of connections between camp trump and the eastern powers flowing directly back to Putin. In any other age, these alone would limit the rise of someone as drawn to power as trump. His actions, and those of the many who've paved the way for his ascension to what he hopes to make his throne are littered with criminality. The included connections reads like a who's who of Russian power, now ensconced into our political narrative. That he's all the while proclaimed his "unfair" treatment by the press, the courts, by congress all speak to his desire for ultimate power, which is/could be the undoing of our Republic and Democracy, quite sobering.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an important book and EVERY American should read it. Because of the amount of detail, I do not recommend the audiobook (and I plan to go back and re-read a paper version in the near future).

Nance outlines the connections between the Trump team and Russia, explains WHY Russia got involved, how long Russia has been grooming Trump (he came on their radar in the 1970's!!!), and how team Trump has been aiding Moscow. Other than the money aspect, I did not feel as though Nance explained WHY the entire GOP has gone in lockstep with Trump on being so pro-Putin/pro-Moscow/pro-Russia and I would've liked to see him spend more time on that.

The entire book is well annotated with publicly available references for all of his assertions. One of the takeaways I had was "Why did mainstream media report on this DURING the 2016 election?" My conclusion was two-fold: First, MSM's focus was on the horse race and Second, some of the events weren't evident until Nov. 9, 2016.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the hardcover edition, but it is not a selection here.) This is an important, necessary, and, frankly a terrifying book. Mr. Nance not only discusses what has happened, but, more importantly, why these things are happening. It is the latter which makes the book frightening. In the closing chapter, Mr. Nance makes the brilliant choice of evoking the character of General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, focusing on his efforts at the battle of Gettysburg. Mr. Nance holds Chamberlain as an example of what the nation once was and hopefully can be again. Nance is more hopeful than this reader; he deserves high praise for this book, and an added accolade for the brilliant inclusion of General Chamberlain.

[Arik Darnell Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Good Book: Thorough with Many References for Validation

The facts laid out in this book are pretty shocking. For anyone to call the investigation into the Trump Election Team's meetings with Russian delegates and the Russia election interference as witchhunts, shams, and hoaxes is really irresponsible and disingenuous. I hope more people read this book and make informed decisions for themselves. The actions of President Trump and his supporting team is shocking. I believe this book is a precursor to more information being revealed in the future. Thanks to the author for packing all of this information in a digestable format.

[Beverly Diehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not the "fun" kind of horror, but a horror story nonetheless. Note: I haven't read the first two books in this series, but it works as a standalone.

Holy schnikes. Even if you've been following the story closely, it's worse than you think. Nance does try to end on an upbeat note, but really...

If we don't turn things around at the next election, we may not have another one. #45 will just hang on and have phony "elections" like Putin, until he passes the crown to either Beavis & Butthead, or his Princess.

It's a good read, but a very dark one.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Malcolm Nance. Brilliant man. The problem with these corrupt times is that there is so much information out there. Incredible reporting. Numerous books. This book brings everything together...but if you have been following all of this closely as I have done - I cannot say there was anything new in this book. I enjoyed it but I am not sure I really learned much new. Except for things about Benedict Arnold and General Charles Lee.

[Ilene · Rating 5 out of 5]

As you might imagine this book was eye opening and frightening in the context of America’s future. I find it so sad to see how many of the trump cult will just refuse to read books like this with dozens of pages of bibliography. Mr. nance, a former member of the GOP and naval intelligence officer lays out the case quite well for the case that Trump is at best a puppet of Russia and at worst a Russian asset ... and based on this info I lean towards the latter.

[Kevin D'Elia · Rating 1 out of 5]

After reading the foreword by Martin Sheen, I became suspicious of the book's tone and intent because of his description of President Trump. (Full disclosure: I am a supporter of the President but keep an open mind, reading books of all stripes to get a balanced viewpoint. ) I was convinced when I read the Introduction by Mr. Nance. This book is clearly a biased but piece on the President and I have books I would rather read, given my father limited time for reading.

[Chris Sosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Malcom Nance's trademark narcissism aside, "The Plot to Betray America" is a solid overview of the subject. I'm just not quite sure why it exists, since there are so many books on the exact same subject and nothing particularly new is presented here.

[GreyAtlas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Extreme hatred and bias. I hate Trump, but this was a little too much. You could feel the spittle coming from Nance in the first chapter. There were some good factual chapters but I am hesitant to trust his word. This could have been written better.

[paula sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye opening, informational, comprehensive.

Provides a comprehensive view of what is occurring to our country and why. Gives guidance in how to combat misinformation in our media.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This third book-length indictment of the Trump kleptocracy goes beyond The Donald to the nefarious deeds of his Praetorian guard, including William Barr, Paul Manafort, Steve Bannon, agent provocateur Roger Stone, and more.

The main thread is how a Kremlin-friendly Putin-lover got into the Oval Office. . This includes financial ties to Russia through his family's investments-including those of Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner. Also reviewed is the bases for impeachment and criminal charges detailed in The Mueller Report.

[James Garman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, I try not to review books unless I actually finish them, but this one I had to give up on after about a bit more than a quarter of the book. It wasn't that there wasn't any good in it. However, it was dry and I had a hard time getting into it.

He talks a lot about trump being a "useless idiot" for Putin, which is something I believe. He also talks about Manafort and others in the circle around trump being part of a dark group that spends a considerable part of their time advocating for dictators. Also believable as far as I am concerned.

It seemed to me to be pretty much a repeat of what I always believe happened, ie, Russia used influence along with all the Russian mobsters that we know of from Bayview, to compromise and get trump to give them what they wanted.

At the same time, Putin got to destroy, even further, Americans trust in their government, which helped him get an upper hand.

But with other books to read, It just felt like I was wading through mud for what I was getting from it, when there other, more enjoyable books to read, including the heralded publication of a family story of the trumps that I think will be even more enlightening.

[Ted Haussman · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I wouldn’t call this book true journalism, I did learn some things and definitely appreciated the spirit in which the argument was presented. The first half of the book is a rather disjointed mass of facts and personalities with connections insinuated but not well developed. There were lots of dangling facts and unfinished thoughts. Just seemed like the product was rushed to publishing, evident by some the grammatical and spelling errors throughout.

It got much more solid when the author covered Trump post-election.

Glad I read it, even though I thought it paled in comparison to James Stewart’s Deep State to name one.

[Alan Carlson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing new here. Those who should read it, won't. Those who do read it, know all this already.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A ton of information that is eye opening and frightening for the future of this country but so many typos. Fire the editor.

FYI Captain America is played by Chris Evans, not Ryan Evans.

[Meg Ulmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read this book as the impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump have been winding up with no accountability for him. Reading this well-written book makes it crystal-clear just how accountable Trump should be.

[Rafael Suleiman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly good examination of the Trump presidency.