I have seldom wanted to read a book more than I wanted to read this one. It is no secret that, since 2016, I have opposed 45 and his MAGAt cultists being in power, dismantling and corrupting the systems of justice...flawed as they unquestionably are...in pursuit of permanent power for their repugnant, regressive, evil system of oligarchic fascism.

What I hoped to find was a source of hope for our collective future. What I got was a roadmap for getting to the better, more just future I believe we all deserve. So this read overdelivered on my expectations.

The rules themselves are not so much the focus of the read, for me personally, anyway. I needed this read as a reminder that, in spite of triumphalist media coverage (<I>The New York Times</i> newsletter last week headlining what 45’s second-term agenda *is*, not would be, is my latest example), there are those in position to defeat the horrible wretch at his con-man worst, using legal, honest, above-board means to do it.

At every step, every rule, I paused to appreciate Author Snell’s clarity, concision, and fervor. No words wasted in self-congratulation. No fancy rhetorical flourishes to show off his cleverness. The author must, of necessity, throw at you a large legal vocabulary. No one can tell this story without doing that very thing. What he does is explain it as we go along: Simple, direct prose clarifications, telling what his methods were that he used to hand the rotter whose vile education scam he took down entirely his first-ever serious, consequential legal defeat. I was blissed out as I read his repeatable roadmap to defeating the entire edifice of illegality that prior prosecutors had failed to do.

Since it worked before, I am heartened when I see similar steps being taken now by other prosecutors. I cringe when I see evidence that they have fallen into the traps Author Snell points out. I pray like Hell that this book, or at least its ideas, have made it onto the radar of each and every prosecutor pursuig justice against 45 and his MAGAt followers in each and every dark, unswept corner of US democracy where we know they are.

As citizens and as readers, we should all take in these clear-eyed, aphorism-ready rules, and run with them...most especially Rule #6, <I>Play the Long Game: Fight the Fight on Statutes of Limitations</i>. The analysis of the largely successful strategy 45 has used to run down the clock on everything he possibly can, can be fought. Author Snell explains how.

This information should be of interest to all of us as we watch the same playbook being used right this minute. It should also be of interest to all of us who resist the status quo as abused by the very rich and very powerful to get their profits ever higher. The techniques Author Snell used are repeatable, expandable, and very usable in all our advocacy efforts.

I know most do not like to think about hard subjects, but they will be there whether one thinks about them or not. The question you can affect is not whether they are there, but how you can best resolve, or partly resolve, or contribute to resolving them. Reading <I>TAKING DOWN TRUMP: 12 Rules for Prosecuting Donald Trump by Someone Who Did It Successfully</i> will equip you to make a positive contribution to resolving them, not merely enduring the results of inattention and inaction.

People who still support Trump are insistent that Trump is a poor innocent man who is only being picked on because he's running for president again, but this book details how Trump has been committing crimes for years while underworked government workers try to hold him accountable. Trump already suffered some losses in court, and this book explains some successful strategies to continue to hold Trump accountable for his actions.
The Trump family has no shame and has been cheating people for decades. Trump has openly and proudly bragged about some of his practices where he cheats the people he's supposed to be doing business with, while his supporters laugh and believe he would never do that to THEM.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

Loved, loved, loved this book! The author gives a roadmap of how he took down Donald Trump in court. Holding him accountable for perhaps the very first time in his life. In it, he describes 12 rules for how to beat Trump. He describes all of Trump's tactics, the bullying, the stonewalling, the counter attacks. How to use Trump's weaknesses against him, like his inability to remain quiet. I sincerely hope that Snell has shared this with all of the many prosecutors lined up against Trump in court, today and in the future! I read this in one sitting, being unable to put it down. And then I read it again!

Not only is Tristan Snell a seasoned prosecutor who has taken on - and taken down - the former President in court, he's also a dynamic writer, going back to his days as co-publisher of the excellent lit mag The Brooklyn Quarterly. Absolutely essential reading for anyone concerned about the fate of democracy and the United States as we know it... or, as Lincoln once famously said, for anyone worried about "whether any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure."

Tristan Snell, Taking Down Trump 12 Rules for Prosecuting Donald Trump by Someone Who Did It Successfully, Melville House Publishing Melville House, January 2024.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

As I read the headlines about former president Donald Trump fulminating against the courts, the cases in the courts and the personnel involved, the impact it has on his followers and the death threats to judges and court officials I am pleased to be reading Tristan Snell’s optimistic approach to a similar situation in his book, Taking Down Trump.

Snell was the Assistant Attorney General for New York who prosecuted Donal Trump for defrauding Trump University students in 2018. He also refers to the limited egregiously limited success in an earlier case where systematic racial discrimination prevented Black Americans becoming tenants in apartments owned by Trump. Partial success won (although the students did win back most of their fees under the $25 million settlement made by Trump despite his protestations that he would not settle) is less than those who challenged him deserved. However, Snell’s account of the obstacles facing anyone encountering Donald Trump in an attempt to win a legal case is instructive – surmounting the challenges in the Trump playbook is not a given. It takes honesty, resilience, courage and knowledge of the law. Snell had all of these. The judges and officials now under fire from Trump are in this situation because they also have these qualities.

As Snell suggests, it is not unusual for the Trump to benefit from those in power, including from the role of donations in the success of those standing for office, filing his own countersuits and attacking witnesses and lawyers opposed to them…familiar? The twelve rules Snell proposes demonstrate the familiarity of this conduct, and other ways in which Trump outmanoeuvres the law, while stating clearly how to overcome such obstacles. The first rule is that the leadership in a case involving Trump must be determined and committed, from the top. In addition, political incentives in favour of intervention need to be tilted in favour of doing so. Part 11 covers the rules needed to ensure that the investigation proceeds. One chapter title that will be familiar to those who follow American politics, is ‘Trump is incapable of being quiet’. Part 111 offers advice about being public about the case, ensuring it is flawless; and advice to ignore the noise and Trump’s hostile reactions. In short, to achieve any modicum of success, those challenging Trump must maintain control over their counterreactions.

The Epilogue recognises the concerns expressed by observers, provides some information about the way in which current cases demonstrate an awareness of the Trump playbook and methods of dealing with this behaviour and also notes some of the mistakes Trump’s lawyers have made. Here the time taken to bring cases forward is dissected briefly – suggesting that delays have included prosecutors’ need to familiarise themselves with the Trump pattern of dealing with litigation.

This is an important book, offering as it does some optimism about the way in which the law might eventually treat such a powerful person. It is also easy to read. Partly this is because the information is so provocative, but also because of the way in which Snell makes his case – clearly and succinctly, while providing plenty of information for the non-legal reader to understand. Taking Down Trump is a timely book, and well worth reading.