Midnight In Washington
How We Almost Lost Our Democracy and Still Could
by Adam Schiff


(Click for Amazon book review)

BOOK REVIEW by OnTheIssues.org:

California Congressman Adam Schiff became one of former president Donald Trump's severest critics as chair of the House Intelligence Committee and one of the House managers during the first Trump impeachment trial. As a result he was mocked by Trump (with one of his typical nicknames, "Shifty Schiff") and received death threats. When the Capitol was breached during the January 6, 2021 insurrection, Schiff joined many of his colleagues in a secure location. One of them came over to him and said, "You said this would happen." [p.12]

In Midnight in Washington: How We Almost Lost Our Democracy and Still Could, Schiff expresses his concern with Trump's multi-pronged attempt to steal an election he lost, the complicity of most of his Republican colleagues, and how Republican state legislators have enacted laws to make it easier to steal next time. It is a harrowing first person account from someone who was in the midst of it, and a warning tinged with some hope that America can do better.

However this is no mere polemic. Schiff takes the opportunity to engage in some memoir of his pre-Congressional years, and then offer detailed accounts of what serving in Congress has been like over the past two decades. He talks of the marathon questioning of then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over Benghazi, where he got her to respond to how she personally felt over being accused, in effect, of sabotaging the security that led to the death of a friend. [p.76]

He spends the bulk of the book going through the Trump years. There's Congressman Devin Nunes claiming that the Obama administration had spied on the Trump campaign based on "documents" that he had but had not shared with the Intelligence Committee. [p.111] There's then-Attorney General Barr suppressing and lying about the Mueller Report into Russian interference in the 2016 election on behalf of Trump. [p.172-174] And, there are many pages about the events leading up to the first Trump impeachment over Trump asking Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden and the trial itself.

All of this adds to the already hefty bookshelf of Trump tomes, providing Schiff's unique point of view. What makes the book notable is its stark depiction of American democracy under siege by Trump and his supporters. In a sense the book is about the buildup to the November election which Trump -- over a year later -- still refuses to concede that he lost. Schiff offers no magic bullet or legislative prescription. Rather the book is his attempt to sound the alarm. He concludes, "We must understand that we are not passengers on this journey... It is within our power to take hold of the rudder, choose the future we want for our children and grandchildren, and, with the grace of God, make it so." [p. 478]

-- Daniel M. Kimmel, OnTheIssues editor, Dec. 3, 2021

OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Civil Rights     Adam Schiff: Republican legislators enacting Jim Crow voting restrictions.

Government Reform     Adam Schiff: Can't guard democracy against those who won't uphold oath.     Adam Schiff: Congressional Republicans refused to challenge Trump.     Adam Schiff: We came so close to losing our democracy.     Adam Schiff: The second impeachment was not a continuation of the first.     Adam Schiff: Under Trump, Congress saw its oversight powers emasculated.     Adam Schiff: Trump's authoritarianism poses an existential danger.     Adam Schiff: Congress responsible for allowing new authoritarianism.

Principles & Values     Adam Schiff: Wore gas mask in Congress when tear gas deployed on Jan. 6.     Adam Schiff: As impeachment leader, Felt targeted by January 6 rioters.     Adam Schiff: The GOP had become an anti-truth & anti-democratic cult.     Adam Schiff: Despite flaws, US is best hope for freedom loving peoples.     Adam Schiff: Despite flaws, US is best hope for freedom-loving peoples.     Adam Schiff: Path to power: eat right, exercise & outlive the bastards.     Adam Schiff: Made case for impeachment guilt, but not for removal.     Adam Schiff: Senators believed Trump guilty, but no reason to convict.     Jamie Raskin: Led second impeachment trial against President Trump.     Pat Fallon: In Congress for 3 days before Jan. 6 insurrection.     Paul Gosar: At podium when Jan. 6 riot started; urged to call Trump.     Ruben Gallego: Wore gas mask in Congress when tear gas deployed on Jan. 6.

Welfare & Poverty     Adam Schiff: Address economic inequalities through electoral process.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Adam Schiff Democrat U.S. Rep California-28 Jamie Raskin Democrat U.S. Rep Maryland- 8 Pat Fallon Republican U.S. Rep Texas-4 Paul Gosar Republican U.S. Rep Arizona-4 Ruben Gallego Democratic House Member U.S. Rep Arizona- 7