A Review by George Kennedy
“Midnight In Washington” – a veritable tour de force of the former Trump administration, i.e. everything we knew, though we understood, or failed to grasp regarding the former president’s connection to Russia, the Ukraine Affair, and the precedent-setting double Impeachment of the nation’s 45th president.
Congressman Adam Schiff, the United States representative for California’s 28th congressional district, in his role as chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, found the time to chronicle the egregious misconduct and criminality of one of the most incompetent and corrupt presidencies in living memory. “Midnight In Washington,” is a lengthy, thoughtful, and extensively annotated tome (483 pages) worthy of our best effort. I had planned an extended, leisurely read, but I found myself quickly turning the pages, and in several days, I closed the book to be reminded of the four-year nightmare that is still far from over. This was an easy read because I had consumed at least a dozen books by Washington-based reporters covering the Trump White House. I was also familiar with major media coverage of the President, members of his administration, the President’s political party, his congressional allies, and the scandals enveloping him like a shroud.
Schiff puts us on notice – my interpretation – that American democracy and democracy in its broadest application are fragile, still under assault, with the likelihood of more ominous challenges in the near term. He exhorts us to think about what’s important. For example, will the American experiment wither or, will we, the American public – the country’s real stewards – become increasingly mesmerized by a relentless right-wing media machine determined to advocate for a ruling, anti-democratic political oligarchy at our expense and that of the American Republic.
In the epilogue, Schiff offers us a lifeline when he writes, “Our present circumstances are desperate, but we do not have the luxury of despair. American history gives us good reason to be hopeful, for it demonstrates an almost endless capacity for renewal, and a depth and breadth of talent, genius, and devotion that inhabit every part of our country from sea to shining sea.”
I choose to be hopeful.
