Best Selling Books by Carol Leonnig

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The first definitive account of the rise and fall of the Secret Service, from the Kennedy assassination to the alarming lapses of the Obama and Trump years—from Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Carol Leonnig “This book is a wake-up call, and a valuable study of a critically important agency.”—The New York Times A WASHINGTON POST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Carol Leonnig reported on the Secret Service for nearly a decade, bringing to light the secrets, scandals, and shortcomings that plague the agency today—from a toxic workplace culture to dangerously outdated equipment to the deep resentment within the ranks at key agency leaders, who put protecting the agency’s once-hallowed image before fixing its flaws. The Secret Service was born in 1865, in the wake of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, but its story begins in earnest in 1963, with the death of John F. Kennedy. Shocked into reform by its failure to protect the president on that fateful day in Dallas, this once-sleepy agency was radically transformed into an elite, highly trained unit that would redeem itself several times, most famously in 1981 by thwarting an assassination attempt against Ronald Reagan. But by Barack Obama’s presidency, the once-proud Secret Service was running on fumes and beset by mismanagement and mistakes in judgement: break-ins at the White House, an armed gunman firing into the windows of the residence while confused agents stood by, and a massive prostitution scandal among agents in Cartagena, to name just a few. With Donald Trump’s arrival, a series of promised reforms were cast aside, as a president disdainful of public service instead abused the Secret Service to rack up political and personal gains. To explore these problems in the ranks, Leonnig interviewed dozens of current and former agents, government officials, and whistleblowers who put their jobs on the line to speak out about a hobbled agency that is in desperate need of reform.

An Instant New York Times Bestseller “An amazing piece of work . . . This is not just a series of newly reported anecdotes and pieces of information. It is a remarkable thesis about how Trump effectively broke the Justice Department in his first term by bullying it.” —Rachel Maddow, The Rachel Maddow Show From Pulitzer Prize–winning Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis, a shocking investigation of unparalleled depth into the subversion of the Justice Department over the last decade, culminating in President Donald Trump upending this cornerstone of democracy and threatening America’s rule of law as we have long known it Throughout his first administration, Trump did more than any other president to politicize the nation’s top law enforcement agency, pressuring appointees to shield him, to target his enemies, and even to help him cling to power after his 2020 election defeat. The department, pressed into a defensive crouch, has never fully recovered. Injustice exposes not only the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine the department at every turn but also how delays in investigating Trump’s effort to overturn the will of voters under Attorney General Merrick Garland helped prevent the country from holding Trump accountable and enabled his return to power. With never-before-told accounts, Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis take readers inside as prosecutors convulsed over Trump’s disdain for the rule of law, and FBI agents, the department’s storied investigators, at times retreated in fear. They take you to the rooms where Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team set off on an all-but-impossible race to investigate Trump for absconding with classified documents and waging an assault on democracy—and inside his prosecution’s heroic and fateful choices that ultimately backfired. With a plethora of sources deeply embedded in the ranks of three presidencies, Leonnig and Davis reveal the daily war secretly waged for the soul of the department, how it has been shredded by propaganda and partisanship, and how—if the United States hopes to live on with its same form of government—Trump’s war with the Justice Department will mark a turning point from which it will be hard to recover. Injustice is the jaw-dropping account of partisans and enablers undoing democracy, heroes still battling to preserve a nation governed by laws, and a call to action for those who believe in liberty and justice for all.

The Secret Service has one of the most important jobs in the United States. In this Pulitzer Prize winning investigation, Carol Leonnig''s exposes the dereliction of duty that has put the President—and the nation—at risk. In September of 2014, a man leapt the White House fence, ran across the lawn, and got into the mansion, where he was only later tackled by an off-duty agent who happened by. In 2011, the Secret Service mishandled the aftermath when a shooter took aim at the White House itself, sewing confusion within the division and amongst the First Family. The mission of the Secret Service is to keep our leaders safe. In this respect, the Secret Service has had a string of failures bordering on near-catastrophe. Carol Leonnig got beyond the stonewalling of the Secret Service, notoriously tight-lipped about its procedures, and its shortcomings, to write a meticulously researched, utterly devastating expose into one of the most vital police forces in America. She has chronicled security lapses, mishandled resources, failures from the leadership on down, and reported on the men and women who protect the President. This Pulitzer Prize winning work offers an unprecedented window into the flaws of an agency that once seemed picture-perfect. Many agents and officers spoke to Leonnig at the risk of their livelihoods. The impact of her groundbreaking work cannot be underestimated: the President, present and future, will be safer.

The instant #1 New York Times bestseller | A Washington Post Notable Book | One of NPR''s Best Books of 2021 The definitive behind-the-scenes story of Trump''s final year in office, by Phil Rucker and Carol Leonnig, the Pulitzer-Prize winning reporters and authors of A Very Stable Genius. “Chilling.” – Anderson Cooper “Jaw-dropping.” – John Berman “Shocking.” – John Heilemann “Explosive.” – Hallie Jackson “Blockbuster new reporting.” – Nicolle Wallace “Bracing new revelations.” – Brian Williams “Bombshell reporting.” – David Muir The true story of what took place in Donald Trump’s White House during a disastrous 2020 has never before been told in full. What was really going on around the president, as the government failed to contain the coronavirus and over half a million Americans perished? Who was influencing Trump after he refused to concede an election he had clearly lost and spread lies about election fraud? To answer these questions, Phil Rucker and Carol Leonnig reveal a dysfunctional and bumbling presidency’s inner workings in unprecedented, stunning detail. Focused on Trump and the key players around him—the doctors, generals, senior advisers, and Trump family members— Rucker and Leonnig provide a forensic account of the most devastating year in a presidency like no other. Their sources were in the room as time and time again Trump put his personal gain ahead of the good of the country. These witnesses to history tell the story of him longing to deploy the military to the streets of American cities to crush the protest movement in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, all to bolster his image of strength ahead of the election. These sources saw firsthand his refusal to take the threat of the coronavirus seriously—even to the point of allowing himself and those around him to be infected. This is a story of a nation sabotaged—economically, medically, and politically—by its own leader, culminating with a groundbreaking, minute-by-minute account of exactly what went on in the Capitol building on January 6, as Trump’s supporters so easily breached the most sacred halls of American democracy, and how the president reacted. With unparalleled access, Rucker and Leonnig explain and expose exactly who enabled—and who foiled—Trump as he sought desperately to cling to power. A classic and heart-racing work of investigative reporting, this book is destined to be read and studied by citizens and historians alike for decades to come.

The instant #1 bestseller, now updated with new reporting. “This taut and terrifying book is among the most closely observed accounts of Donald J. Trump’s shambolic tenure in office to date." - Dwight Garner, The New York Times Washington Post national investigative reporter Carol Leonnig and White House bureau chief Philip Rucker, both Pulitzer Prize winners, provide the definitive insider narrative of Donald Trump’s presidency “I alone can fix it.” So proclaimed Donald J. Trump on July 21, 2016, accepting the Republican presidential nomination and promising to restore what he described as a fallen nation. Yet as he undertook the actual work of the commander in chief, it became nearly impossible to see beyond the daily chaos of scandal, investigation, and constant bluster. In fact, there were patterns to his behavior and that of his associates. The universal value of the Trump administration was loyalty—not to the country, but to the president himself—and Trump’s North Star was always the perpetuation of his own power. With deep and unmatched sources throughout Washington, D.C., Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker reveal the forty-fifth president up close. Here, for the first time, certain officials who felt honor-bound not to divulge what they witnessed in positions of trust tell the truth for the benefit of history. A peerless and gripping narrative, A Very Stable Genius not only reveals President Trump at his most unvarnished but shows how he tested the strength of America’s democracy and its common heart as a nation.

Uma nova e surpreendente investigação jornalística sobre o instável governo Donald Trump, escrita por Carol Leonnig e Philip Rucker, repórteres do Washington Post e vencedores do Prêmio Pulitzer. É um relato impactante, que vai do início conturbado de seu mandato às ameaças recentes de um processo de impeachment. Rucker e Leonnig são jornalistas com fontes exclusivas em Washington. Nos últimos três anos, fizeram reportagens aprofundadas sobre as formas como Donald Trump moldou o papel de presidente à sua própria imagem, desestruturando antigas alianças com países amigos e levando as instituições norte-americanas ao limite. Seria fácil confundir o primeiro mandato de Trump com um caos completo. Leonnig e Rucker mostram, no entanto, que existe um padrão, uma forma de agir, que dá sentido aos desastres diários. Com centenas de entrevistas inéditas e uma rigorosa pesquisa, os autores revelam como pensa e como age o 45o presidente dos EUA, conforme ele se aproxima da ameaça de um impeachment. Eles nos levam aos meandros da investigação sobre a interferência russa nas eleições americanas de 2016, e mostram como o time de advogados de Trump luta para conter os danos à sua presidência. Também nos revelam os bastidores da Casa Branca, e como a equipe precisa lidar com suas decisões intempestivas, de impacto mundial. É um relato alarmante e preciso sobre a presidência mais polêmica da história recente dos EUA.

een schokkende reconstructie van Trumps eerste termijn als president door twee topjournalisten met ongeëvenaarde toegang tot het Witte Huis In 2020 gaan de Amerikanen weer naar de stembus om een president te kiezen. Wat zou nog vier jaar Trump betekenen? Philip Rucker en Carol Leonnig nemen afstand van de dagelijkse waan van breaking news en Twitter voor een reconstructie van de eerste ambtstermijn. Op basis van meer dan 200 bronnen in en om het Witte Huis wordt een schokkend beeld geschetst van de dagelijkse gang van zaken in het Oval Office en van Trumps ontmoetingen met buitenlandse regeringsleiders. Terwijl het onderzoek van Robert Mueller over Russische inmenging en de impeachment van het Huis van Afgevaardigden boven Trumps hoofd hangen, proberen zijn ambtenaren voortdurend de veroorzaakte rommel op te ruimen. De auteurs geven een verhelderend beeld van de unieke invulling die Trump heeft gegeven aan het presidentschap. Volgens hen is het een vergissing om deze slechts als chaos te beschouwen. De pogingen van Donald Trump om de Amerikaanse instituties en internationale bondgenootschappen op de proef te stellen, zijn succesvoller dan verwacht. Philip Rucker is chef verslaggeving over het Witte Huis bij The Washington Post en versloeg eerder de verkiezingen van 2012 en 2016 en de regering-Obama. Carol Leonnig is onderzoeksjournalist bij The Washington Post, waar ze sinds 2000 werkt. In 2015 won ze de Pulitzerprijs voor haar artikel over wangedrag bij de Geheime Dienst en in 2017 (samen met Rucker) voor Ruslands inmenging tijdens de presidentsverkiezingen van 2016. Beiden zijn vaste gasten bij tv-zender MSNBC.

2020 ist das Schicksalsjahr der USA. Im November wird der Präsident gewählt, und die Lage spitzt sich dramatisch zu: Wird Trump es noch einmal schaffen? Und was würde das bedeuten? Dieses Buch gibt die Antwort. Im Gewitter der täglichen Tweets und »News« treten die beiden Pulitzer-Preisträger von der »Washington Post« einen Schritt zurück, um die Amtszeit Trumps Schritt für Schritt zu rekonstruieren. Sie nutzen eine Fülle von neuen Details und Erkenntnissen, die sie aus Hunderten Stunden Interview-Material mit mehr als 200 Verwaltungsbeamten, Trump-Vertrauten und anderen Augenzeugen gewonnen haben, um entscheidende Muster hinter dem täglichen Chaos in der Regierung aufzudecken. Exzellent recherchiert und meisterhaft erzählt, lassen sie ein Bild von Trump entstehen, das uns besorgt stimmen sollte: Seine Versuche, das amerikanische System und die Demokratie zu unterlaufen, sind erfolgreicher als gedacht. In diesem Jahr geht es wirklich um alles. - Dieses Buch müssen Sie gelesen haben, um in diesem Jahr 2020 mitreden zu können! - Wer dieses Buch liest, versteht die Hintergründe und weiß, was auf dem Spiel steht! - Ein Insider-Bericht, der Hunderte von Stunden Interviews mit über 200 Augenzeugen auswertet, lebendig und packend geschrieben, als sei man »live« dabei - Zahlreiche neue Erkenntnisse über Trumps Amtsführung; u.a. erstmals alle Hintergründe über den Mueller-Report sowie über die russische Einmischung in den Wahlkampf 2016

«Io sono l''unico che può sistemare le cose.» Con queste parole, dal palco della Quicken Loans Arena a Cleveland, Donald Trump inizia la sua corsa alla presidenza degli Stati Uniti d''America il 21 luglio 2016. Sbandierando il motto «Make America great again» e promettendo di riscattare il paese dal declino in cui, a suo dire, è sprofondato, riesce a vincere le elezioni. Ma, fin dal giorno del suo insediamento, il valore universale della Casa Bianca di Trump sembra essere la fedeltà, non al paese, ma al presidente stesso. Come comandante in capo, Trump ha reinventato la presidenza a propria immagine e somiglianza, lanciato nell''etere raffiche di tweet per comunicare umori e pensieri o per annunciare - con inquietante disinvoltura - il licenziamento senza preavviso di collaboratori e membri del gabinetto, ha stravolto alleanze politiche e commerciali, e messo a dura prova le istituzioni americane. Tuttavia sarebbe fin troppo facile etichettare il suo primo mandato come puro caos. Basandosi su centinaia di interviste esclusive e inchieste inedite, Philip Rucker e Carol Leonnig, giornalisti del «Washington Post» ed entrambi premi Pulitzer, ripercorrono in queste pagine i primi tre anni dell''amministrazione Trump, in un sorprendente tour nelle stanze del potere: dallo Studio Ovale, sede di burrascose riunioni e proverbiali sfuriate, all''ufficio del procuratore speciale Robert Mueller, che ha condotto l''indagine sulle interferenze della Russia nelle elezioni del 2016 e sull''ipotesi di reato di abuso di potere e intralcio alla giustizia, i cui risultati hanno innescato la procedura di impeachment. Un racconto in presa diretta che documenta come in realtà ci sia uno schema ben preciso nel disordine quotidiano dell''attuale presidenza, e soprattutto un unico scopo: difendere i propri interessi e perpetuare il proprio potere, anche a costo di minare le fondamenta della democrazia.

In deze NYT-bestseller wordt voor het eerst een compleet beeld geschetst van hoe het er werkelijk aan toeging in het laatste chaotische jaar van Trumps desastreuze presidentschap. In ‘Alleen ik kan dit’ onthullen Carol Leonnig en Philip Rucker ongekende details over hoe het er werkelijk aan toeging in het desastreuze laatste jaar van een disfunctioneel presidentschap. Met Trump in de hoofdrol en de belangrijkste spelers om hem heen – artsen, generaals, adviseurs en familieleden – in bijrollen bieden de auteurs een verhelderend verslag van een unieke periode in de recente geschiedenis. Hun bronnen waren erbij terwijl Trump keer op keer zijn persoonlijk gewin boven het welzijn van het land stelde. Zij zagen hoe de president weigerde het coronavirus serieus te nemen – tot het punt dat hij zelf besmet raakte. Dit is het verhaal van een natie die – economisch, medisch en politiek – gesaboteerd werd door zijn eigen leider, met als hoogtepunt een baanbrekend, minutieus verslag van wat er precies gebeurde in het Capitool op 6 januari 2021. Alleen ik kan dit is voorbestemd om nog decennia gelezen en bestudeerd te worden als een klassieker in de journalistiek.

Kann der Secret Service den US-Präsidenten noch schützen? Das erste Buch über den Secret Service überhaupt - Pulitzer-Preisträgerin Carol Leonnig erzählt die Geschichte des Geheimdienstes, der vor allem dafür bekannt ist, den Präsidenten der USA zu schützen. Ihre Recherchen lassen die Erfolge und Skandale des Secret Service in völlig neuem Licht erscheinen. Sie erzählt von stolzen Agenten, die sich in den Kugelhagel werfen, der auf Präsident Reagan niedergeht, aber auch vom großen Versagen bei dem Mord an John F. Kennedy. Davon, wie das Selbstverständnis, die Demokratie und den Präsidenten zu schützen, im Laufe der Zeit immer weiter erodiert, wie internes Fehlverhalten und Budgetkürzungen bewirken, dass der Secret Service seiner Aufgabe zunehmend nicht mehr gerecht wird. Unter Obama und Trump eskaliert die Situation hinter den Kulissen schließlich. Leonnigs Fazit: Heute ist der Dienst praktisch nicht mehr in der Lage, Joe Biden zu schützen, einen Präsidenten, der so schwerwiegende Drohungen erhält wie kaum ein Präsident vor ihm. Mithilfe von Top-Secret-Informationen gelingt es Leonnig, tief in die Arbeitsweise und das Selbstverständnis des Secret Service einzusteigen, der Geheimdienst, der wie kein zweiter in die dramatischen Momente der US-Geschichte verwickelt war. Die New York Times nannte das Buch "eine erschütternde Aneinanderreihung haarsträubender, bislang nicht bekannter Vorfälle" und einen " Weckruf". Die Washington Post nannte es "unglaublich gründlich recherchiert, schonungslos". "Ein alarmierender Blick auf jene, die den Präsidenten eigentlich schützen sollten. Das muss Konsequenzen haben." - The Guradian "Echter, aufrichtiger Investigativjournalismus wie er sein sollte. Unglaublich gut." - The Wall Street Journal

Verlagsinfo: Ungekürzte Ausgabe. Im Gewitter der täglichen Tweets und "News" treten die beiden Pulitzer-Preisträger von der Washington Post einen Schritt zurück, um die Amtszeit Trumps Schritt für Schritt zu rekonstruieren. Sie nutzen eine Fülle von neuen Details und Erkenntnissen, die sie aus Hunderten Stunden Interview-Material mit mehr als 200 Verwaltungsbeamten, Trump-Vertrauten und anderen Augenzeugen gewonnen haben, um entscheidende Muster hinter dem täglichen Chaos in der Regierung aufzudecken. Exzellent recherchiert und meisterhaft erzählt, lassen sie ein Bild von Trump entstehen, das uns besorgt stimmen sollte: Seine Versuche, das amerikanische System und die Demokratie zu unterlaufen, sind erfolgreicher als gedacht.