Campbell—now a CNN analyst on crime, justice, and national security issues—chronicles the views of those inside government who remain appalled by the President’s actions vis-à-vis the FBI. “One key aspect of law enforcement in this nation that separates us from authoritarian regimes has been the norm that politicians do not interfere in the work of the FBI,” he asserts. “This critical norm has been tested many times throughout our history; conflict between the White House and our institutions of justice is nothing new. What is unprecedented, however, is Donald Trump’s method of dealing with such conflict.”
In addition to his personal encounters and firsthand observations while working at the FBI, Campbell has interviewed dozens of current and former government officials and experts, whose personal beliefs range across the political spectrum. He meticulously details two controversial election-related investigations—one into the question of Hillary Clinton’s private emails and the other into the covert Russian influence on the election and the alleged complicity of the Trump campaign—offering new insights about Trump’s war on justice from his perspective inside the FBI, including
The circumstances of James Comey’s meeting at the Trump Tower in which he first warned the incoming president about reports about Russian interference and the explosive Steele dossier
Comey’s reasons behind the controversial decision to make the investigation into Clinton public just before the election while keeping the investigation into Trump’s campaign a secret
The unfolding of Michael Flynn’s criminal actions in talking with the Russians while still a private citizen
Campbell watching with his fellow agents in the FBI “war room” as their boss, Director Comey, was questioned by the Senate Judiciary Committee
Fresh information from inside the room—and his return flight home to Washington—when Comey discovered he had been fired as FBI director while watching CNN
Trump’s open disdain for, and barrage of salvos delivered at the Mueller investigation
Trump’s obsession with a so-called “deep state” of unelected career officials within the intelligence community bent on bringing him down
Rudy Giuliani’s public comparison of the FBI to “Hitler’s private army”
The fallout from Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s damning report on the FBI’s handling of the Clinton email investigation
Sarah Sanders blatant and repeated documented lies about FBI agents supporting Comey’s firing
Campbell’s hard decision to resign from the career he loved as an FBI agent as the agency was under siege
From the training ground at Quantico to private investigation rooms in FBI headquarters to Congressional hearings, Campbell illustrates the daily realities of working as an FBI agent, as he defends the integrity of his fellow agents and their mission to serve. “If unscrupulous politicians succeeded in convincing the American people that the FBI is corrupt, dishonest, and political, they will also succeed in making the nation less safe,” he believes. “Never did I imagine a day when the greatest threat to our institutions would come from within our own government. But here we are.”