Three-quarters of Americans believe that a group of unelected government and military officials secretly manipulate or direct national policy in the United States. President Trump blames the "deep state" for his impeachment. But what is the American "deep state" and does it really exist?
To conservatives, the "deep state" is an ever-growing government bureaucracy, an "administrative state" that relentlessly encroaches on the individual rights of Americans. Liberals fear the "military-industrial complex"--a cabal of generals and defense contractors who they believe routinely push the country into endless wars. Every modern American president--from Carter to Trump--has engaged in power struggles with Congress, the CIA, and the FBI. Every CIA and FBI director has suspected White House aides of members of Congress of leaking secrets for political gain. Frustrated Americans increasingly distrust the politicians, unelected officials, and journalists who they believe unilaterally set the country's political agenda. American democracy faces its biggest crisis of legitimacy in a half century.
This sweeping exploration examines the CIA and FBI scandals of the past fifty years--from the Church Committee's exposure of Cold War abuses, to Abscam, to false intelligence about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, to NSA mass surveillance revealed by Edward Snowden. It then investigates the claims and counterclaims of the Trump era, and the relentless spread of conspiracy theories online and on-air. While Trump says he is the victim of the "deep state," Democrats accuse the president and his allies of running a de facto "deep state" of their own that operates outside official government channels and smears rivals, both real and perceived.
The feverish debate over the "deep state" raises core questions about the future of American democracy. Is it possible for career government officials to be politically neutral? Was Congress's impeachment of Donald Trump conducted properly? How vast should the power of a president be? Based on dozens of interviews with career CIA operatives and FBI agents, In Deep answers whether the FBI, CIA, or politicians are protecting or abusing the public's trust.
Industry Reviews
"Pulitzer-winner David Rohde dismisses the Deep State theory-but also shows government does pursue entrenched interests... Under the subtitle "The FBI, the CIA, and the Truth About America's 'Deep State'", the two-time Pulitzer-winner rejects the nomenclature of conspiracy theorists." -- The Guardian
"...when the author gets to Trump... the two disparate threads of his narrative come neatly together. Here Rohde skilfully makes clear that it is precisely by pedalling the myth of the Deep State that the President has been able to undermine efforts at oversight." -- Lawrence Douglas - TLS
"... a tour of the decades-long effort to square that most unsquareable of democratic challenges: how to run clandestine intelligence and security agencies in a system that is ostensibly accountable to the people." -- Peter Spiegel - Financial Times
"David Rohde's In Deep demolished the theory of the "deep state"." -- 2020 in US politics books - The Guardian
"In Deepis a compassionate critique of the simmering grievance that has now found its way to the White House, where it threatens to upend the tenets of American democracy: truth, justice, and, above all, the rule of law. Reported in stunning and tenacious detail, In Deep is a wholly satisfying read-and a necessary one for anyone wanting to understand the forces at play in our government today." -- Andrea Bernstein, Peabody Award-winning co-host of the WNYC/ProPublica podcast Trump, Inc. and author of American Oligarchs .
"David Rohde has written a remarkable book that is both urgent reporting and sweeping history. He brings the same vitality and precision that animated his storied reporting on war zones to this portrait of the decades-long battle over the powers of the intelligence community, and the erosion-under recent administrations of both parties-of rules put in place to protect American citizens' rights. And he brings fresh insight to the phrase 'deep state,' and the role it may play in the future of American politics." -- Ronan Farrow, author of Catch and Kill
