In Deep

Starred review from April 6, 2020
Pulitzer Prize–winner Rohde (Beyond War) delivers an illuminating history of the often tense relationship between U.S. presidents and the career civil servants who enact—or, by some accounts, thwart—their policies. Starting with the Church committee’s 1976 report documenting “decades of illegal FBI and CIA spying on American citizens,” Rohde delves into every presidential administration from Gerald Ford through Barack Obama, sketching the Iran-Contra affair, illegal Chinese donations to the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign, and the post-9/11 Patriot Act. The book’s second half focuses on developments during the Trump era: the Hillary Clinton email investigation, Russian interference in the 2016 election, and the impeachment inquiry and trial. Concluding that there is no “widespread, politically motivated ‘coup’ ” to remove Trump from office, Rohde argues that “the rising call for a more powerful presidency”—voiced most loudly by conservative figures including attorney general William Barr—threatens proper oversight of the FBI and the CIA by throwing the balance of power between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches out of whack. Rohde weaves impeccable research, including interviews with current and former White House and law enforcement officials, into a cohesive and revelatory narrative. Political junkies and generalists alike will relish this deeply informed account.

April 15, 2020
A two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist attempts "to answer the question of whether a 'deep state' exists in America." Rodhe, an executive editor of the New Yorker website, examines where the conspiratorial term originated and how the Trump administration has consistently undermined checks-and-balances efforts in order to create its own "parallel, shadow government." The term, coined by Peter Dale Scott in The Road to 9/11 (2007) to designate nefarious plans by foreign authoritative governments, was appropriated by Trump and associates to mean underhanded attempts by a "policy elite" (primarily the State Department, FBI, and CIA) to sabotage and delegitimize his election and government. Is there really a deep state, or is it an effort by the Trump administration to spread disinformation and distrust of government, a tactic that has been effective in shoring up his conservative base? Rohde agrees that Americans are justified in distrusting the government during periods of scandal and outrageous misconduct, and the author systematically walks through those cases, chronicling violations of citizens' privacy, from the Cold War to Watergate to trumped-up evidence for Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction. On one hand, Rohde continually returns to the success of the Church Committee's (1975) unprecedented bipartisan efforts to expose early governmental abuses and suggest recommendations that, over time, created new congressional intelligence committees to monitor and check the CIA and other agencies. On the other hand, the author reveals how the "imperial presidency," thwarted during the Nixon administration, has steadily creeped back in place thanks to work by Attorney General William Barr and others, causing a veritable "collapse of Congressional oversight" that found its apotheosis in the impeachment and acquittal of Trump. Throughout his immaculately researched work, Rohde inserts the career stories of "good civil servants," including many of the officials who testified in the impeachment hearings. As this revelatory book shows, the deep state, which now incorporates such nonelected loyalists as Rudy Giuliani, Sean Hannity, and Barr, has become the government itself. A vital investigation for this election year--and far beyond.

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June 5, 2020

Although the term deep state was coined recently, the concept of career bureaucrats, technocrats, and intelligence agents working to thwart the efforts of a sitting U.S. president and administration is not new according to investigative journalist Rohde (Beyond War). The author examines events of the past eight administrations to determine if the concept is accurate or a method for administrations to avoid openness and truthfulness regarding their activities. Rohde describes how Congress created the bipartisan Church Commission following Richard Nixon's resignation to investigate abuses by the CIA, FBI, and IRS. He then identifies how later administrations felt impeded by the guidelines; for example, the Iran-Contra affair during the Ronald Reagan administration and the promise of "weapons of mass destruction" that led to the Iraq War. The final section discusses the distrust and denigration of the intelligence community by the Trump administration. The author interviewed officials at all levels in a number of agencies, and shows how career diplomats have suffered a loss of morale. He concludes that the suspicion of a deep state is unfounded but that bias, "turf consciousness," and comfort with the status quo can work against change and oversight. VERDICT Readers seeking to know the origins of the deep state and how the concept evolved will be enlightened by Rohde's compelling study.--Jill Ortner, SUNY Buffalo Libs.

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2019

Trump supporters blame rogue elements of the FBI and CIA for fomenting the idea of a Russian intervention in the 2016 election, progressives blame the military-industrial complex for our relentless wars, and in general 74 percent of Americans believe that a deep state of unelected military and government officials run everything. Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Rohde interviews FBI agents, covert CIA operatives, and more to see if he can find out the truth.

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.