Carol Leonnig is an American investigative journalist whose work delves into uncovering hidden truths and power structures. Her writing is characterized by a deep exploration of complex subjects and a commitment to bringing vital information to the public. Through her reporting, she illuminates intricate systems and their societal impacts.
"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 corona virus 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"-- Provided by publisher
The definitive behind-the-scenes story of Trump’s final year in office, by Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig, the Pulitzer-Prize winning reporters and authors of the #1 New York Times bestseller, A Very Stable GeniusThe 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, Philip 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.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “This is one of those books that will go down as the seminal work—the determinative work—in this field. . . . Terrifying.”—Rachel MaddowThe first definitive account of the rise and fall of the Secret Service, from the Kennedy assassination to the alarming mismanagement of the Obama and Trump years, right up to the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6—by the Pulitzer Prize winner and #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of A Very Stable Genius and I Alone Can Fix It NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POSTCarol Leonnig has been reporting on the Secret Service for The Washington Post for most of the last decade, bringing to light the secrets, scandals, and shortcomings that plague the agency today—from a toxic work 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. But the Secret Service wasn’t always so troubled.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 this reputation for courage and excellence would not last forever. By Barack Obama’s presidency, the once-proud Secret Service was running on fumes and beset by mistakes and alarming lapses in 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’s in desperate need of reform. “I will be forever grateful to them for risking their careers,” she writes, “not because they wanted to share tantalizing gossip about presidents and their families, but because they know that the Service is broken and needs fixing. By telling their story, they hope to revive the Service they love.”
Rucker and Leonnig have deep and unmatched sources throughout Washington, D.C., and for the past three years have chronicled in depth the ways President Donald Trump has reinvented the presidency in his own image, shaken foreign alliances and tested American institutions. It would be all too easy to mistake Trump's first term for pure chaos. But Leonnig and Rucker show that in fact there is a pattern and meaning to the daily disorder. Relying on scores of exclusive new interviews with first-hand witnesses and rigorous original reporting, the authors reveal the 45th President up close, take readers inside Robert Mueller's Russia investigation and assess the consequences
Die geheime Geschichte der Agenten, die den US-Präsidenten schützen sollen
Kann der Secret Service den US-Präsidenten noch schützen? Pulitzer-Preisträgerin Carol Leonnig beleuchtet in ihrem ersten Buch über den Secret Service dessen Geschichte und Herausforderungen. Ihre Recherchen werfen ein neues Licht auf die Erfolge und Skandale des Dienstes, der vor allem für den Schutz des Präsidenten zuständig ist. Sie schildert die heldenhaften Taten von Agenten, die sich für Präsident Reagan in die Schusslinie werfen, und beleuchtet das Versagen beim Mord an John F. Kennedy. Leonnig zeigt, wie das Selbstverständnis, die Demokratie und den Präsidenten zu schützen, im Laufe der Zeit erodiert ist, während internes Fehlverhalten und Budgetkürzungen die Effektivität des Secret Service beeinträchtigen. Die Situation eskaliert unter Obama und Trump, sodass der Dienst heute kaum noch in der Lage ist, Joe Biden zu schützen, der mit beispiellosen Drohungen konfrontiert ist. Mit Top-Secret-Informationen gewährt Leonnig einen tiefen Einblick in die Arbeitsweise des Secret Service, der in dramatische Momente der US-Geschichte verwickelt war. Die New York Times beschreibt das Werk als „erschütternd“ und „Weckruf“, während die Washington Post es als „unglaublich gründlich recherchiert“ lobt. The Guardian und The Wall Street Journal betonen die alarmierende Relevanz und die Qualität des investigativen Journalismus.
