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The Unmaking of the President 2016
How FBI Director James Comey Cost Hillary Clinton the Presidency
Table of Contents
About The Book
The first comprehensive account that proves that James Comey threw the 2016 election to Donald Trump. “Compelling criticism…lapsed Trump supporters might well open their minds to this attorney’s scholarly, entirely convincing proof of the damage done” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).
During the week of October 24, 2016, Hillary Clinton was decisively ahead of Donald Trump in most polls. Then FBI Director James Comey sent his infamous letter to Congress on October 28, saying the bureau was investigating additional emails, potentially relevant to the Hillary Clinton email case. In The Unmaking of the President 2016, attorney Lanny J. Davis shows how Comey’s misguided announcement—just eleven days before the election—swung a significant number of voters away from Clinton, winning Trump an Electoral College victory—and the presidency.
Drawing on sources in the intelligence community and Justice Department, Davis challenges Comey's legal rationale for opening a criminal investigation of Clinton's email practices, questions whether Comey received sufficient Justice Department oversight, and cites the odd clairvoyance of Trump ally Rudolph Giuliani, who publicly predicted an "October surprise." Davis proves state by state, using authoritative polling data, how voter support for Clinton dropped after the Comey letter was made public, especially in key battleground states.
Despite so many other issues in the election—Trump’s behavior, the Russian hacking, Clinton's campaign missteps—after the October 28 Comey letter, everything changed. Now Davis proves with raw, indisputable data how Comey’s October letter cost Hillary Clinton the presidency and America turned the course of history in the blink of an eye.
During the week of October 24, 2016, Hillary Clinton was decisively ahead of Donald Trump in most polls. Then FBI Director James Comey sent his infamous letter to Congress on October 28, saying the bureau was investigating additional emails, potentially relevant to the Hillary Clinton email case. In The Unmaking of the President 2016, attorney Lanny J. Davis shows how Comey’s misguided announcement—just eleven days before the election—swung a significant number of voters away from Clinton, winning Trump an Electoral College victory—and the presidency.
Drawing on sources in the intelligence community and Justice Department, Davis challenges Comey's legal rationale for opening a criminal investigation of Clinton's email practices, questions whether Comey received sufficient Justice Department oversight, and cites the odd clairvoyance of Trump ally Rudolph Giuliani, who publicly predicted an "October surprise." Davis proves state by state, using authoritative polling data, how voter support for Clinton dropped after the Comey letter was made public, especially in key battleground states.
Despite so many other issues in the election—Trump’s behavior, the Russian hacking, Clinton's campaign missteps—after the October 28 Comey letter, everything changed. Now Davis proves with raw, indisputable data how Comey’s October letter cost Hillary Clinton the presidency and America turned the course of history in the blink of an eye.
About The Author
Photo courtesy of author
Lanny J. Davis is a lawyer who counsels individuals, corporations, and others on crisis management and legal issues. He served as special counsel to President Bill Clinton and was a spokesperson for the president and the White House on matters concerning campaign finance investigations and other legal issues. In 2005 President George W. Bush appointed Davis to serve on the five-member Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, created by the U.S. Congress as part of the 2005 Intelligence Reform Act. He graduated from Yale Law School, where he won the prestigious Thurman Arnold Moot Court prize and served on the Yale Law Journal. He is the author of The Unmaking of the President 2016.
Product Details
- Publisher: Scribner (February 6, 2018)
- Length: 240 pages
- ISBN13: 9781501180408
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Raves and Reviews
“Compelling criticism…surprisingly calming…Lapsed Trump supporters might well open their minds to this attorney's scholarly, entirely convincing proof of the damage done.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Anyone who cares about understanding the most startling election in US history must confront the analysis and evidence so skillfully deployed by Lanny Davis. Whether you're a Trump True Believer, or a Hillary Diehard, you'll never come to terms with the amazements and outrages of the 2016 campaign until you've confronted this indispensable book. Many readers will disagree with some of its explosive conclusions (as I did), but no one can disregard all of them.”
—Michael Medved, nationally syndicated conservative talk show host, bestselling author, member of Board of Contributors for USA Today
“Lanny Davis details the full, horrifying story of how one man’s decisions to violate policy and common sense helped to upend an election and, as a consequence, change the course of American history. One of our keenest political observers, Davis lays out a meticulous case against James Comey, the former director of the FBI, whose repeated and unprecedented interference in the 2016 election transformed what is supposed to be a politically silent government post into that of a virtual third candidate…Davis’s book is at once disturbing, fascinating and informative. It is a must-read for anyone who cares about the future of democracy.” —Kurt Eichenwald, Contributing Editor, Vanity Fair and bestselling author
“Everybody wants to know how Hillary Clinton lost the election to Donald Trump. Lanny Davis has the answer, and it’s indisputable: the blame lies squarely on then-FBI Director James Comey and his ill-considered, ill-fated, and lethal letter of October 28. Lanny Davis and Donald Trump agree on one thing: James Comey should have been fired. The difference, as Davis proves conclusively, is that Comey should have been fired by President Obama for violating rules of the Justice Department, interfering in a presidential election, and throwing the election to Donald Trump.” —Bill Press, former moderator of CNN’s Crossfire, nationally syndicated columnist and progressive Democrat TV/radio talk show host
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