Donald Trump The Illegitimate President

Book excerpt: This 400 page, meticulously researched book by a former Republican insider takes a critical and unflinching look at Donald Trump and the threat he poses to our democracy. It collates a vast amount of important information not widely known or adequately covered by the mainstream press. Never before in U.S. history has a candidate for President encouraged and accepted the help of a foreign power hostile to our nation, which aggressively intruded into our electoral process and helped him gain office despite his having lost the popular vote by 2.9 million. Donald Trump portrays himself as a successful business tycoon even though he lost $1 billion in a decade, filed six corporate bankruptcies, faced over 3,500 lawsuits and was fined $10 million when one of his failed casinos ran afoul of money laundering laws. His foundation was shut down amidst accusations of self-dealing, and a string of Trump businesses failed. He was rescued from financial ruin by Russian oligarchs and lenders with ties to the Kremlin. The book traces Trump's involvement with Moscow back to 1987, and examines his embrace of Vladimir Putin amidst warnings from U.S. intelligence agencies. One chapter lists 251 contacts established by Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller between the Trump campaign and people with Russian ties and another chapter that quotes the misstatements made by the Trump team to cover them up. Yet the author questions critical gaps in the Mueller investigation regarding Wikileaks, Trump's financial history, and a server in Trump Tower that was allegedly communicating directly with a Russian server during the 2016 campaign. The book also challenges Mueller's assertion that indicting a sitting President is "unconstitutional," when, in fact, there is nothing in the Constitution or any statutes that prohibit a criminal indictment, and no court opinions that prevent it either. Indeed, the Supreme Court has ruled a President can even be subject to a civil lawsuit while in office. There are alarming new details about how Russia exploited social media on Trump's behalf to spread disinformation, plus the story of a decorated female U.S. military whistleblower who was jailed when she tried to warn Americans of Russian interference. The author looks at the ways in which voter suppression efforts, easily hacked electronic voting machines, and anomalies in vote totals versus exit polling raise troubling questions about the outcome of the 2016 election. The book reveals suspicions of some Republican leaders that Putin pays Trump, even as the GOP-lead Senate rubber stamps his alt-right nominees to lifetime positions on our high courts. The book describes how Trump discarded the recommendations of his transition team and put lobbyists in key government positions who have proceeded to undo regulations protecting our health, safety and environment. The Republican tax cut bill, the border wall and Trump's tariffs receive a critical critique here as well. The book profiles some of the miscreants who have surrounded Trump, both past and present, including his mentor, the late mob lawyer Roy Cohn, an alumnus of the Joe McCarthy era. Revealing and colorful details about Trump's marital history, lavish lifestyle and personal eccentricities are also disclosed. Trump's mendacity, narcissism, cruelty, defense of white nationalists and frenzy to reverse decades of bipartisan progress reflect his tyrannical impulses that threaten to transform the U.S. into a totalitarian state. Finally, the author reflects on the worries of our Founding Fathers about foreign interference in our elections and the potential to corrupt a President, and how the Founders' concerns may be manifest in Donald Trump.