Fear: Trump in the White House

He came into the job with five-star: Foremost among those recommending him was Brett Kavanaugh, who had been staff secretary to President George W. Bush. Bush appointed Kavanaugh to a judgeship on the powerful District of Columbia Court of Appeals. He was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Trump on July 9, 2018.

CHAPTER 18

The information in this chapter comes primarily from multiple deep background interviews with firsthand sources.

Bannon was convinced that Jared: See Emily Crane and Cheyenne Roundtree, “Donald’s Eruption in the Oval Office: Video Emerges of Trump’s ‘Furious Argument’ with Top Adviser Steven Bannon as Ivanka and Jared Look On, Hours Before President Made Phone Tapping Claims,” Daily Mail, March 5, 2017.

For his part, he was convinced: See Michael S. Schmidt, Matthew Rosenberg and Matt Apuzzo, “Kushner and Flynn Met with Russian Envoy in December, White House Says,” The New York Times, March 2, 2017.

The later event for Modi

: Max Bearak, “Modi’s ‘No Frills’ Visit to Washington Masks a Potential Minefield,” The Washington Post, June 26, 2017.

In 2014 he said, “We mark”: Barack Obama, “Statement on the Elimination of Syria’s Declared Chemical Weapons Stockpile,” August 18, 2014. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=106702.

“We got 100 percent of the chemical”: John Kerry interview with David Gregory, Meet the Press, NBC, July 20, 2014.

In 2016, DNI Clapper said publicly: Peter Baker, “For Obama, Syria Chemical Attack Shows Risk of ‘Deals with Dictators,’ ” The New York Times, April 9, 2017.

In a public statement on April 4

: Donald J. Trump, “Statement on the Chemical Weapons Attack in Khan Sheikhoun, Syria,” April 4, 2017. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=123681.

Graham knew Trump-speak: The next day Putin called the attack an “illegal act of aggression” and canceled an agreement to prevent midair incidents between U.S. and Russian jets over Syria called deflection.

The next morning, Senator John McCain: “Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, Is Interviewed on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe,’ ” Federal News Service, April 7, 2017.

Anne-Marie Slaughter, who had been: View Slaughter’s tweet at https://twitter.com/slaughteram/status/850263058756673540.

CHAPTER 19

The information in this chapter comes primarily from multiple deep background interviews with firsthand sources.

An emergency meeting was called: Author review of contemporaneous notes by a participant.

Sonny Perdue gave a presentation

: Author review of contemporaneous notes by a participant.

A New York Times headline read: Gina Chon and Pete Sweeney, “China Surrenders Little to U.S. in First Round of Trade Talks,” The New York Times, May 12, 2017.

The president held a meeting: Author review of contemporaneous notes by a participant.

CHAPTER 20

The information in this chapter comes primarily from multiple deep background interviews with firsthand sources.

He brought a three-page memo: Rosenstein’s memo is available at https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3711188/Rosenstein-letter-on-Comey-firing.pdf.

He had muddied the waters

: “Partial Transcript: NBC News Interview with Donald Trump,” CNN, May 11, 2017, https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/11/politics/transcript-donald-trump-nbc-news/index.html.

The evening of Tuesday, May 16: Michael S. Schmidt, “Comey Memo Says Trump Asked Him to End Flynn Investigation,” The New York Times, May 16, 2017.

On CNN that evening: Derek Hawkins, “ ‘I Think We’re in Impeachment Territory,’ Says David Gergen, Former Aide to Nixon and Clinton,” The Washington Post, May 17, 2017.

CHAPTER 21

The information in this chapter comes primarily from multiple deep background interviews with firsthand sources.

First, he had been blindsided: “Attorney General Sessions Statement on Recusal,” U.S. Department of Justice, March 2, 2017.

Dowd examined the one-page Rosenstein order: The order is publicly available at https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3726408-Rosenstein-letter-appointing-Mueller-special.html.