Jeffrey Toobin’s books are the perfect ones to explain legalese for the layperson. His OJ Simpson one is far and away the best out of that sordid saga. His Bill Clinton one took a clearheaded look at impeachment. I wanted to read his explanation of the 2000 election recount but I just haven’t had the heart for it.
This one doesn’t disappoint either. In fact, save for the fact that it ends at the same time the coronavirus pandemic began, I would say this is the ideal read for folks in the future trying to understand how Donald Trump got away with it. Toobin goes into the intricacies of the Mueller investigation, especially the drawbacks of Mueller idolizing the law to the point where he basically removes himself from casting judgment. Toobin has a healthy respect for Mueller but he’s not above commenting on the foolish nature of Mueller’s approach. It’s probably about as inside baseball as we’re going to get from the notoriously tightlipped Mueller team and you can slowly see democracy slip away with every poor decision he makes.
The book was also helpful in that Toobin takes a measured but honest look at the absurd corruption of the Trump regime. He keeps his prose sparse and his surprises to a minimum but he makes sure to highlight everything that is a “Big Freaking Deal.” It’s a story he’s equipped to tell and it’s a shame he has to tell it. Such is the world we live in. It happened here. And here’s how it happened.
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