A revealing behind-the-scenes examination of how Congress twice fumbled its best chance to
hold accountable a president many considered one of the most dangerous in American history. The
definitive-and only-insider account of both Trump impeachments as told by the two reporters on
the front lines covering them for The Washington Post and Politico. In a riveting account that
flips the script on what readers think they know about the two impeachments of Donald Trump
Rachael Bade and Karoun Demirjian reveal how-and why-congressional oversight failed when it was
needed most. Unchecked weaves a vivid narrative of how House Democrats under the lead of a
cautious speaker Nancy Pelosi hesitated for months to stand up to Trump-and then pulled
punches in their effort to oust him in a misguided effort to protect themselves politically.
What they left on the cutting room floor would come back to haunt them as Republicans seized
on their missteps to whip an uneasy GOP rank-and-file into line behind Donald Trump abandoning
their scruples to defend a president who some privately believed had indeed abused his power.
Even after Trump incited a mob to violently attack the Capitol-a day the authors recount in
minute-by-minute stunning detail - Democrats pressured their own investigators to forego a
thorough investigation in the name of safeguarding the Biden agenda. And Republicans fearful
of repelling a base they needed for re-election missed their best moment to turn their backs
on a leader they secretly agreed was destructive to democracy. Sourced from hundreds of
interviews with all the key players the authors of Unchecked pull back the curtain on how both
parties pursued political expediency over fact-finding. The end result not only emboldened
Trump giving him room for a political comeback but also undermined Congress by rendering
toothless their most powerful check on a president: the power of impeachment. A dramatic and at
times crushing work of investigative reporting Unchecked is both a gripping page-turner of
political intrigue and a detailed case study for historians and political scientists searching
for answers about the unravelling of checks and balances that have governed American democracy
for centuries.
