Liar's Kingdom

From a lead prosecutor in the Mueller investigation, an urgent summons to fight the problem of political lies in the United States: a central flaw in our democracy, but one whose solution is closer than we think—and which will help to prevent a figure like Trump from ever arising again. "The only way we're going to lose this election is if the election is rigged." “Millions of people voted illegally.” “The election was a total fraud.” These statements by Donald Trump aren’t political hyperbole; they’re fiction, plain and simple. False claims are foundational both to Trump’s actions as president: weaponizing law enforcement, justifying the unlawful deportation of immigrants, undermining the legitimacy of our elections, and even sparking a historic insurrection against the peaceful transfer of power. Taken together, his lies pose an existential threat to American democracy. But we have the tools to put an end to them once and for all. In Truthless, veteran prosecutor and MSNBC legal analyst Andrew Weissmann explains how Trump is able to get away with toxic deceit, and why holding politicians like him to account is our first and best chance to save America. In this country, lying about a business or an individual can get you fined and even thrown in prison—but when the only victim is the electorate, Weissmann explains, the law offers no recourse. This quirk of our legal system doesn’t stem from the First Amendment, or indeed any part of the written Constitution; rather, it is assumed to be beyond legal control. But fortunately, we already have a forum for sorting fact from fiction: the courtroom. It can be reimagined to meet the moment, but doing so will require us to resist the urge—as embodied by the recent Biden administration—to cling to our old norms and institutions. Change is risky, but not acting is riskier still. A slim, elegant treatise, Truthless is also a playbook for our current crisis. In order to stop Trump and prevent a similar menace after he is gone, Weissmann shows that we need to reimagine our democratic system from the courtroom on up.