Where Tyranny Begins: The Justice Department, the FBI, and the War on Democracy Cover
Podcast Mentions

Where Tyranny Begins The Justice Department, the FBI, and the War on Democracy

David Rohde

How Donald Trump used threats, co-option, and conspiracy theories to bend DOJ and FBI officials to his will to a greater extent than publicly known―and how Merrick Garland, other prosecutors, and judges failed to hold him accountable before the 2024 election. Over the course of his presidency, Dona...

Podcasts 3
Quotes 11
Pod Save America

It was mentioned as being pre-sale on Amazon, and that it was about the decline of the State Department, with a specific focus on what Tillerson did while he was in the position.

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Ronan Farrow has a book coming out about the decline of the State Department and having seen Some of the reporting he does in the book about what Tillerson was doing inside of the department I will on...

— Episode: "Taking the gavel from Paul Ryan's hand....

Episode: "Taking the gavel from Paul Ryan's hand."

It was mentioned as being pre-sale on Amazon, and that it was about the decline of the State Department, with a specific focus on what Tillerson did while he was in the position.

"

Ronan Farrow has a book coming out about the decline of the State Department and having seen Some of the reporting he does in the book about what Tillerson was doing inside of the department I will only say it's worth checking out for now.

Yes, also by Ronan's book.

I Really like the book. I think it's really interesting. It's a really interesting book

Fresh Air

Podcast

Fresh Air

The book examined how Trump's attacks eroded Justice Department and FBI norms, tracing events from the firing of James Comey to the Jan.6 investigation.

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His new book is Where Tyranny Begins, The Justice Department, The FBI, and the War on Democracy.

— Episode: How Donald Trump Changed Federal Law Enf...

Episode: How Donald Trump Changed Federal Law Enforcement

The book examined how Trump's attacks eroded Justice Department and FBI norms, tracing events from the firing of James Comey to the Jan.6 investigation.

"

His new book is Where Tyranny Begins, The Justice Department, The FBI, and the War on Democracy.

His new book is Where Tyranny Begins, The Justice Department, The FBI and the War on Democracy.

His new book is Where Tyranny Begins, The Justice Department, The FBI and the War on Democracy.

His new book is Where Tyranny Begins, The Justice Department, The FBI, and The War on Democracy.

On with Kara Swisher

In the episode, the author explained that the book examines how Donald Trump's assaults on the DOJ and FBI have created a climate of fear, discouraging officials from pursuing politically sensitive investigations. He highlighted the notion that once law ends, tyranny begins, and noted the bipartisan pressures that turn career prospects into a lose‑lose scenario for civil servants. The discussion framed the title as a crucial warning about the erosion of institutional independence.

Highly Recommended

Episode: From “Witch Hunt” to “Weaponization”: The Impact o...

The book investigates the impact of Donald Trump's attacks on law enforcement agencies and civil servants. It highlights the growing fear among DOJ and FBI officials to speak out and pursue politically charged cases.

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The tyranny is sort of, it comes from John Locke. He said famously, where law ends, tyranny begins.

It's increasingly seen as a lose-lose, a career ender by any FBI or DOJ official that no matter how they handle a politically sensitive investigation, they're going to be hit harder by Trump but they also face attacks from Democrats.

Our norms are a promise that we will fiercely protect the independence of this department from political interference in our criminal investigations. Our norms are a promise that we will not allow this department to be used as a political weapon. And our norms are a promise that we will not allow this nation to become a country where law enforcement is treated as an apparatus of politics.

if the attorney general lacks the power to appoint inferior officers, that conclusion would invalidate the appointment of every member of the department who exercises significant authority and occupies a continuing office other than the few that are specifically identified by statute.

Note: The book recommendations on this page are discovered automatically from podcast transcripts, and may be incorrect or incomplete.