In Deep: The FBI, the CIA, and the Truth about America's "Deep State"

by David Rohde

Trump is following the playbook he has deftly used since entering politics—spreading conspiracy theories about his rivals while shrouding his own actions in secrecy. If a “deep state” is a group of officials who secretly wield government power with little accountability or transparency, Trump and his loyalists increasingly fit that definition. Rudy Giuliani has served as a private envoy of the president who carries out a secret foreign policy outside government channels. He is not a government official, nor subject to government ethics rules, nor subject to questioning by Congress. Fox News host Sean Hannity has served as a private communications arm of the White House, holding late-night phone conversations with the president, acting as one of his informal advisors, and passionately promoting him on-air. The president, after consulting with unidentified aides and supporters, demands that the Justice Department investigate officials and corporations he views as enemies and aid those he considers allies. Top White House aides defy congressional subpoenas and refuse to answer questions under oath. Past presidents claimed that some White House communications were subject to executive privilege, but not all of them.