Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for When You Come at the King:
You best not miss.
Quick synopsis:
A look at the U.S. Special Counsel cases from Nixon to today.
Fact for Non-History People:
In the first 18 years after the adoption of the Special Counsel, there was only one.
Fact for History Nerds:
However, starting in 2017 there was always at least one Special Counsel ongoing and usually more than one.
My Take on When You Come at the King:
It’s always nice to have a well-written and researched book which totally confirms a personal hypothesis. In this case, Elie Honig completely verifies my assertion that modern politics is a total clown show. His book, When You Come at the King, is an exploration of Department of Justice Special Counsels (the position had different names but I will use this one throughout).
Of course, Honig covers exactly who you think he would. A president whose arrogance allowed him to lie to the American people and then hide behind lawyers and double speak. Yes, Bill Clinton is covered in this book. Oh, that’s not who you thought I meant? I’m just kidding. Clearly, I meant Nixon. Haha, nope, maybe I mean Reagan. Biden? What do you mean I still haven’t said who you expected? Weird.
Of course, I am making a point here (surprise!). Honig meticulously walks through all the Special Counsels from Nixon to today. If you think this is a one-sided hit job, then you are going to be massively disappointed. All the presidents covered fail to live up the highest ideals we would expect them to embody. (Side note: George W. Bush comes off quite well from this perspective, especially in comparison to the rest.)
At the heart of all of this is the question about the efficacy of the Special Counsel as a position. Each case seems to vary wildly on who gets tabbed, what their orders are, and how it all turns out. Actually, how it turns out is pretty consistent. If a “no name” person gets convicted, then they do some jail time. If the person is high up enough, the president will just pardon them. Getting your cronies out of jail is a very bipartisan activity. Honig also spends a good amount of time on presidential immunity which could fill its own book.
This is an extremely easy read from a prose perspective. Honig is a lawyer by trade, but even the more complicated aspects of the cases are told in simple terms for less legally inclined. He covers a ton of ground in about 300 pages, and it felt like the perfect amount of space to give you details without droning on about legalese.
It is the year 2025 (uuuugh), so I should mention Honig is the senior legal analyst for CNN and thus, people have expectations/preconceptions. While I certainly wouldn’t call Honig a fan of Donald Trump, he is dispassionate when discussing the matters of law. (And for the record, Bill Barr is the one who takes the biggest hits in this one.) Honig points out multiple times where Trump and his legal team had solid grounds for their actions and strategies against a rather unfair investigation. If you are willing to leave your politics at the door, I think you will find that this book is excellent, even if you do want to argue some of the finer points with the author.
I mean, he is a lawyer. I’m sure he’d love arguing with you.
(This book was provided as an advance reader copy by the author. All opinions are my own because I am super opinionated.)
Verdict:
A great read no matter what side of the aisle you sit on. Buy it here!
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