A compelling and masterful account, based on fresh reporting, of the
investigation, impeachment, and acquittal of President Donald Trump, a
ferocious political drama that challenged American democracy itself.
In the spring of 2019, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi did not favor
pursuing Trump's impeachment. Her view was: "He's just not worth it."
But by September, after a whistleblower complaint suggesting that Trump
had used his office for his political benefit, Pelosi decided to risk
it. The impeachment inquiry led to charges of abuse of power and
obstruction of Congress, a gamble that ultimately meant Trump would be
the first impeached president on the ballot in US history.
Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporters Kevin Sullivan and
Mary Jordan have crafted a powerful, intimate narrative that
concentrates on the characters as well as the dramatic events, braiding
them together to provide a remarkable understanding of what happened and
why.
Drawing on the deep reporting of Post journalists as well as new
interviews, Sullivan and Jordan deliver a crisp page-turner with
exquisite detail and scenes. They put readers in the room for both sides
of the now-famous phone call between Trump and Ukrainian president
Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25, 2019, revealing the in-the-moment
reactions of those listening to the call in Washington, as well as the
tension in Kyiv, as aides passed notes to Zelensky while he was talking
to Trump.
Sullivan and Jordan deftly illuminate the aims and calculations of key
figures. Pelosi's evolution from no to yes. Trump's mounting fury as
"the I-word" became inevitable. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell
firmly telling Trump on the phone about the Senate trial: You need to
trust me.
Trump on Trial teems with unexpected moments. House member Elissa
Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, alone at the National Archives, walking
amid the nation's founding documents, weighing her vote on impeachment.
Fiery Republican congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida, a favorite Trump
warrior, deciding to lead the storming of the secure room in the US
Capitol basement, where witnesses were testifying.
The authors paint vivid portraits of the men and women branded by the
president's supporters as foes from the "deep state" Ukraine experts
Fiona Hill and Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman; ambassadors Marie Yovanovitch
and William Taylor. The narrative spools out amid Trump's nonstop
tweeting and the infinite echo chamber of social media, which amplified
both parties' messages in ways unknown during past impeachments.
Sullivan and Jordan, aided by editor Steve Luxenberg, follow the story
into the aftermath of Trump's acquittal and the president's payback for
those whom he believed had betrayed him. The retributions took place as
the nation reeled from a devastating pandemic and widespread protests
about racial injustice, with another trial looming: the 2020 election.