It Was All a Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump

by Stuart Stevens

As the Mueller Report makes clear, Trump would likely be indicted for obstruction of justice, were he not a sitting president. He has used the White House as a corporate branding tool for his personal gain; is the first president in modern history to refuse to release his tax returns (after promising repeatedly to do so); praised a congressman for assaulting a reporter; attacked the foundations of the American criminal justice system at its highest levels with attacks on the Justice Department, FBI, and CIA; and encourages staffers to break laws both large and small, from refusing to respond to congressional subpoenas to ignoring the Hatch Act. He’s refused to allow records of his meetings with foreign leaders hostile to the United States, like Vladimir Putin. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer funds are spent at his golf clubs, hotels, and restaurants. His company charges the Secret Service for the golf carts they rent (at exorbitant fees) to follow him in security details. Like no president in U.S. history, Trump has taken the presidency, built in a profit margin, and charged the American public. He has refused to acknowledge the overwhelming evidence of the largest attack by a hostile foreign power on the American election system in U.S. history. He has openly discussed not leaving office when constitutionally required. Trump has demanded the attorney general of the United States act as his personal attorney, putting his interest first, the way Roy Cohn did wh...