The Unmaking of the President 2016

Argues that FBI Director James Comey's fateful letter to Congress, sent in the crucial days leading up to the presidential election, was the ultimate factor in shifting the election to a Trump victory, revealing how the letter violated long-standing Justice Department policies.

"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. Lost in the immediate media firestorm was any thoughtful analysis of the long, complex--and in many ways, hidden--narrative that brought Comey to this irreversible moment. Now, in this losely reasoned account, Lanny J. Davis shows how Comey's misguided announcement 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" was coming. Davis then 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. American history took a surprising turn. In his final chapter, Davis makes a strong case that an impeachment investigation of President Trump must be begun by the U.S. House of Representatives and that serious consideration should also be given to removal of Trump under the Twenty-Fifth Amendment in light of evidence of mental instability that raises the question whether he can safely discharge his duties and powers as President."--Dust jacket.