by Bob Woodward
Lou Dobbs, host of the show: Ibid.
Trump tweeted: “The Intelligence people seem”: @RealDonaldTrump, “The Intelligence people seem to be extremely passive and naive when it comes to the dangers of Iran. They are wrong! When I became President Iran was making trouble all over the Middle East, and beyond. Since ending the terrible Iran Nuclear Deal, they are MUCH different, but…” 8:50 a.m. and “… a source of potential danger and conflict. They are testing Rockets (last week) and more, and are coming very close to the edge. There economy is now crashing, which is the only thing holding them back. Be careful of Iran. Perhaps Intelligence should go back to school!,” 8:56 a.m., January 30, 2019, Twitter.com.
“If we write a report based”: John Bowden, “Senate Intel Chairman: ‘We Don’t Have Anything’ to Prove Collusion Between Trump Campaign and Russia,” The Hill, February 7, 2019.
Trump celebrated on Twitter: See multiple @RealDonaldTrump tweets and retweets about Burr, February 7–25, 2019, Twitter.com.
Chris Ruddy, the CEO of Newsmax: “Sen. King Warns Against Dismissing Intelligence Director for Disputing Trump,” CNN, July 28, 2019.
A front-page story in The Washington Post: Shane Harris, Josh Dawsey and Ellen Nakashima, “President Losing Faith in Coats, Aides Say,” The Washington Post, February 20, p. A1.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The result was a compromise: “The Mueller Report: The Report of the Special Counsel on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election,” U.S. Department of Justice, Volume 2, p. 2.
The core finding of the Mueller report: “Read Attorney General William Barr’s Summary of the Mueller Report,” The New York Times, March 24, 2019.
Mueller wrote in his report: “The Mueller Report: The Report of the Special Counsel on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election,” U.S. Department of Justice, Volume 2, p. 2.
However, Muller wrote: Ibid.
“Based on the facts”: Ibid.
Barr said in his letter: “Read Attorney General William Barr’s Summary of the Mueller Report,” The New York Times, March 24, 2019.
At 4:46 p.m. that afternoon, Trump: “Remarks by President Trump Before Air Force One Departure,” Palm Beach, Florida, March 24, 2019, WhiteHouse.gov.
Trump walked onto the South Lawn: Video: “Trump: ‘America Is the Greatest Place on Earth,” The Washington Post, March 24, 2019.
“Mueller Finds No Conspiracy”: Matt Zapotosky and Devlin Barrett, “Mueller Finds No Conspiracy,” The Washington Post, March 25, 2019, p. A1.
“In The New York Times the banner headline: Mark Mazzetti and Katie Benner, “Mueller Finds No Trump-Russia Conspiracy,” March 25, 2019, p. A1.
A news analysis in the Times: Peter Baker, “Burden Lifts, Leaving Trump Fortified for the Battles to Come,” March 25, 2019, p. A1.
On March 27, Mueller wrote: “Special Counsel Mueller’s Letter to Attorney General Barr,” The Washington Post, May 1, 2019.
“We staffed the Department of Justice”: Molly Finnegan, “Read Rod Rosenstein’s Full Resignation Letter,” PBS NewsHour, April 29, 2019, PBS.org.
“You put the power and authority”: Brett Samuels, “Hirono Rebukes Barr During Hearing: ‘You Should Resign,’ ” The Hill, May 1, 2019.
Several days later, more than 700: Matt Zapotosky, “Trump Would Have Been Charged with Obstruction Were He Not President, Hundreds of Former Federal Prosecutors Assert,” The Washington Post, May 6, 2019.
In an April 2019 column: Michael Smolens, “Public Has Mueller-Report Fatigue and Wants to Move On,” San Diego Union-Tribune, April 18, 2019.
In a March 2020 opinion issued: See Electronic Privacy Information Center v. United States Department of Justice and Jason Leopold and Buzzfeed, INC. v. United States Department of Justice.
Mueller testified before the House: “Transcript of Robert S. Mueller III’s Testimony Before the House Judiciary Committee,” The Washington Post, July 24, 2019.
Barr and Trump had defined the report: @RealDonaldTrump, “The Democrats were trying mightily to revive the badly & irrevocably tarnished Witch Hunt Hoax until Robert Mueller put on the greatest display of ineptitude & incompetence that the Halls of Congress have ever seen. Truth is, he had no facts on his side. Nothing he could do!,” 4:15 p.m., July 27, 2019, Twitter.com.
Trump later told me: Interview with President Donald J. Trump, December 30, 2019.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
In an open letter to Trump: William H. McRaven, “Revoke My Security Clearance, Too, Mr. President,” The Washington Post, August 16, 2018.
Trump had blasted back: Fox News Sunday transcript, Fox, November 18, 2018.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Trump began following a series: The series of 14 columns were published in The Hill beginning in March 2019. For details, see “The Hill’s Review of John Solomon’s Columns on Ukraine,” The Hill, February 19, 2020.
The New York Times just released: Maggie Haberman, Julian E. Barnes, and Peter Baker, “Dan Coats to Step Down as Intelligence Chief; Trump Picks Loyalist for Job,” The New York Times, July 28, 2019.
On the sixth hole: @RealDonaldTrump, “I am pleased to announce that highly respected Congressman John Ratcliffe of Texas will be nominated by me to be the Director of National Intelligence. A former U.S. Attorney, John will lead and inspire greatness for the Country he loves. Dan Coats, the current Director, will…” and “… be leaving office on August 15th. I would like to thank Dan for his great service to our Country. The Acting Director will be named shortly,” 4:45 p.m., July 28, 2017, Twitter.com.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
This chapter is primarily based on letters between President Donald J. Trump and Kim Jong Un obtained by the author.
Trump had his own version of events: Interview with President Donald. J. Trump, December 13, 2019.
The summit was reported: David E. Sanger, “Collapse of Talks Exposes Perils of 1-to-1 Diplomacy,” The New York Times, March 1, 2019, p. A1.
While in Japan on June 29: @RealDonaldTrump, “After some very important meetings, including my meeting with President Xi of China, I will be leaving Japan for South Korea (with President Moon). While there, if Chairman Kim of North Korea sees this, I would meet him at the Border/DMZ just to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!,” 6:51 p.m., June 28, 2019, Twitter.com.
“Would you like me to come in?”: Interview with President Donald J. Trump, December 5, 2019.
“I want to thank you,” Trump said: “Remarks by President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 1:1 Meeting,” Panmunjom, Inter-Korean House of Freedom, June 30, 2019, WhiteHouse.gov.
“A Ratings-Minded President”: David Nakamura, “A Ratings-Minded President Gets the Shot He Wanted,” The Washington Post, July 1, 2019, p. A1.
“I got a very beautiful letter”: “Remarks by President Trump Before Marine One Departure,” August 9, 2019, WhiteHouse.gov.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
This chapter is primarily based on an interview with President Donald J. Trump on December 5, 2019.
It costs the United States approximately: Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, “Operation and Maintenance Overview, Fiscal Year 2020,” March 2019, Defense.gov.
Exit polls showed: Jon Huang, Samuel Jacoby, Michael Strickland, and K. K. Rebecca Lai, “Election 2016: Exit Polls,” The New York Times, Nov. 8, 2016.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
This chapter is primarily based on an interview with President Donald J. Trump on December 13, 2019.
The vote to impeach was 23 to 17: Mike DeBonis, John Wagner and Toluse Olorunnipa, “House Set for Historic Floor Vote Next Week After Committee Approves Two Articles of Impeachment Against Trump,” The Washington Post, December 13, 2019.
We turned to North Korea: Simon Denyer, “North Korea Warns United States of an Unwelcome ‘Christmas Gift,’ ” The Washington Post, Dece
mber 3, 2019.
It was actually 50 percent: Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign spent $398 million. Clinton’s campaign spent $798 million. The media analysis firm mediaQuant estimated Trump received about $5 billion in earned media exposure, compared to $3.2 billion earned media for Clinton’s campaign.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
This chapter is primarily based on an interview with President Donald J. Trump on December 30, 2019.
Early in the interview I mentioned: David Frost, “I Gave Them a Sword”: Behind the Scenes of the Nixon Interviews (New York: William Morrow, 1978), p. 269.
In the rough transcript: See “Telephone Conversation with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine,” July 25, 2019, transcript, declassified September 24, 2019, WhiteHouse.gov.
Trump was referring to Biden’s: See video and transcript, “Foreign Affairs Issue Launch with Former President Joe Biden,” Council on Foreign Relations, January 23, 2018, CFR.org.
Schiff led into his heavily paraphrased account: See Lori Robertson, “Schiff’s ‘Parody’ and Trump’s Response,” FactCheck.org, October 1, 2019.
Trump’s best-known recent apology: See Robert Farley, “Trump’s Rare Apology,” FactCheck.org, December 12, 2017.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
The Senate had confirmed 187: Russell Wheeler, “Judicial Appointments in Trump’s First Three Years: Myths and Realities,” Brookings, January 28, 2020, Brookings.edu.
CHAPTER THIRTY
“My concern is that there are always emerging”: See video, “Dr. Anthony Fauci ’58 Visits Regis,” Regis High School, June 27, 2019, Regis.org.
Redfield, 68, an expert: See Chinese news release linked to in the “China—Original 2919-nCov news thread: weeks 1–4” on FluTrackers.com.
The CDC’s first formal report: “China Pneumonia of Unknown Etiology Situational Report,” CDC, January 1, 2020. Document obtained by the author.
On January 2, the second CDC: “China Pneumonia of Unknown Etiology Situational Report,” CDC, January 2, 2020. Document obtained by the author.
“Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore”: “China Pneumonia of Unknown Etiology Situational Report,” CDC, January 3, 2020. Document obtained by the author.
By January 5, according to the CDC: “China Pneumonia of Unknown Etiology Situational Report,” CDC, January 5, 2020. Document obtained by the author.
The situational report for January 6: “China Pneumonia of Unknown Etiology Situational Report,” CDC, January 6, 2020. Document obtained by the author.
One Bloomberg News story, dubbing it: “China Will Rack Up Three Billion Trips During World’s Biggest Human Migration,” Bloomberg News, January 20, 2020.
The CDC report also noted: “China Pneumonia of Unknown Etiology Situational Report,” CDC, January 6, 2020. Document obtained by the author.
On January 7, he stood up: “2020 Pneumonia of Unknown Etiology Situational Report,” CDC, January 7, 2020. Document obtained by the author.
The January 8 situational report: “2020 Pneumonia of Unknown Etiology Situational Report,” CDC, January 8, 2020. Document obtained by the author.
The CDC situational report for January 13: “Novel Coronavirus (nCoV) 2019 Situational Report,” CDC, January 13, 2020. Document obtained by the author.
On January 15, the CDC Situational Report: “Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Situational Report,” CDC, January 15, 2020. Document obtained by the author.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
This chapter is primarily based on interviews with President Donald J. Trump on January 20 and January 22, 2020.
About two minutes after our call: @RealDonaldTrump, “… And they say you can add 7% to 10% to all Trump numbers! Who knows?,” 1:53 p.m., January 20, 2020, Twitter.com.
The national average of presidential job approval: “President Trump Job Approval,” RealClearPolitics, January 20, 2020.
“It’s one person coming in from China”: Matthew J. Belvedere, “Trump Says He Trusts China’s Xi on Coronavirus and the US Has It ‘Totally Under Control,’ ” CNBC, January 22, 2020.
“We think it is going to be handled”: Alexandra Alper, “Trump Says U.S. in ‘Great Shape’ with Plan for Coronavirus,” Reuters, January 22, 2020.
In a fact check, the Associated Press: Calvin Woodward and Robert Burns, “AP FACT CHECK: Trump Inflates Value of Saudi Arms Deal,” Associated Press, November 21 2018.
Although Trump has repeated: Russell Wheeler, “Judicial Appointments in Trump’s First Three Years: Myths and Realities,” Brookings, January 28, 2020, Brookings.edu.
According to a tally kept: Juliet Eilperin and Darla Cameron, “How Trump Is Rolling Back Obama’s Legacy,” The Washington Post, published March 24, 2017, and updated January 20, 2018.
On January 24, Chinese scientists: Chaolin Huang, Yeming Wang, Xingwang Li, et al., “Clinical Features of Patients Infected with 2019 Novel Coronavirus in Wuhan, China,” The Lancet, January 24, 2020, Vol. 395, Issue 10223, TheLancet.com.
A new impeachment sensation appeared: Maggie Haberman and Michael S. Schmidt, “Money to Ukraine Tied to Inquiries Bolton Book Says,” The New York Times, January 27, 2020, p. A1.
Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said: “Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding the President’s Coronavirus Task Force,” January 29, 2020, WhiteHouse.gov.
In a Michigan speech January 30: “Remarks by President Trump at a USMCA Celebration with American Workers,” Warren, Michigan, January 30, 2020, WhiteHouse.gov.
The German report, printed as a letter: Camilla Rothe, Mirjam Schunk, Peter Sothmann, et al., “Transmission of 2019-nCoV Infection from an Asymptomatic Contact in Germany,” The New England Journal of Medicine, January 30, 2020, NEJM.org. See also Matt Apuzzo, Selam Gebrekidan, and David D. Kirkpatrick, “How the World Missed Covid-19’s Silent Spread,” The New York Times, June 27, 2020.
“This is a serious health situation”: “Press Briefing by Members of the President’s Coronavirus Task Force,” January 31, 2020, WhiteHouse.gov.
“We still have a low risk”: Ibid.
“Today President Trump took decisive action”: Ibid.
“Administration Elevates Response to Coronavirus”: Erica Werner, Yasmeen Abutaleb, Lenny Bernstein, and Lena H. Sun, “Administration Elevates Response to Coronavirus,” The Washington Post, February 1, 2020, p. A1.
In The New York Times, the news: Michael Corkery and Annie Karni, “Declaring Health Emergency, U.S. Restricts Travel from China,” The New York Times, February 1, 2020, p. A1.
Despite the conclusive evidence: Interview with President Donald J. Trump, March 19, 2020.
On May 6, he told me: Interview with President Donald J. Trump, May 6, 2020.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
“What he did was not perfect”: “Full Transcript: Mitt Romney’s Speech Announcing Vote to Convict Trump,” The New York Times, February 5, 2020.
While he said Trump’s behavior: “Alexander Statement on Impeachment Witness Vote,” Office of Lamar Alexander, January 30, 2020, Alexander.Senate.gov.
“Let me be clear, Lamar speaks”: Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Carl Hulse, “Alexander Says Convicting Trump Would ‘Pour Gasoline on Cultural Fires,’ ” The New York Times, January 31, 2020.
“I believe that delaying”: Joseph Morton, “Sasse Says Delaying Aid to Ukraine Was ‘Wrong,’ but Not Grounds for Removing Trump from Office,” Omaha World-Herald, February 4, 2020.
The official press release: “Representatives of Coronavirus Task Force Brief Governors at NGA,” February 9, 2020, HHS.gov.
The next day, President Trump said publicly: See “Remarks by President Trump at the White House Business Session with Our Nation’s Governors,” WhiteHouse.gov; Transcript of Trish Regan Primetime, Fox Business; and “President Trump Rally in Manchester, New Hampshire,” C-SPAN, all February 10, 2020.
Fauci attended a public conference: “Public Health Grand Rounds at the Aspen Institute Presents Coronavirus: The New Pandemic?,” February 11, 2020. Video available at A
spenInstitute.org.
At an event a week later: Transcript, “Threats to Global Health and Bio Security,” Council on Foreign Relations, February 18, 2020, CFR.org.
I reached President Trump by phone: Interview with President Donald J. Trump, February 19, 2020.
Six days earlier, Attorney General Bill Barr: Anne Flaherty, “Barr Blasts Trump’s Tweets on Stone Case: ‘Impossible for Me to Do My Job’: ABC News Exclusive,” ABC, February 13, 2020.
Barr made the comments after: @RealDonaldTrump, “This is a horrible and very unfair situation. The real crimes were on the other side, as nothing happens to them. Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!,” 1:48 a.m., February 11, 2020, Twitter.com.
In early 2020, with 80 million: According to two actively maintained Wikipedia pages that track public Twitter and Facebook metrics: “List of Most-Followed Twitter Accounts” and “List of Most-Followed Facebook Pages,” En.Wikipedia.org.
Earlier that day he had tweeted: @RealDonaldTrump, “Internal REAL Polls show I am beating all of the Dem candidates. The Fake News Polls (here we go again, just like 2016) show losing or tied. Their polls will be proven corrupt on November 3rd, just like the Fake News is corrupt!,” 12:10 p.m., February 19, 2020, Twitter.com.
The report released by the group: “Report of the WHO-China Joint Mission on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19),” 16–24 February 2020, WHO.int.
The WHO report contained a stark: Ibid., p. 19.
“We have it very much under control”: “Remarks by President Trump Before Marine One Departure,” February 23, 2020, WhiteHouse.gov.
The next day he tweeted: @RealDonaldTrump, “The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!,” 4:42 p.m., February 24, 2002, Twitter.com.