Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service
by Carol Leonnig
View on GoodreadsThe Secret Service is the agency that can't afford a single failure. Leonnig traces it from the Kennedy assassination through the Trump years and finds underfunding, outdated equipment and staff shortages feeding one breakdown after another. At the end of the day, you're asking agents to keep a president both reachable and safe.
Core ideas
- A culture, not incidents: The Cartagena prostitution scandal fits a longer run of favoritism, alcohol-related misconduct and sexual impropriety on foreign trips.
- Presidents use it: Kennedy and Clinton tried to slip their details, Nixon used the agency for political spying, and Trump used it in ways that helped his businesses.
- Politics on the desk: In the Trump years MAGA hats appeared on agents' desks, and some agents sympathized with January 6 participants.
Published2021
Pages560
ISBN9780399589010
ReadAug 2024
