Before becoming president, Trump had racked up more than 3,500 pieces of litigation, not to mention innumerable cease-and-desist letters. Zirin cites examples ranging from property development, casino ownership and operation, to the size of a flag and pole at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida resort, which he sought to convert into an issue about free speech. The law for Trump, Zirin concludes, is not a system of rules to be obeyed and ethical ideals to be respected in the orderly pursuit of justice and truth. It is a potent weapon to be used against his adversaries or a hurdle to sidestep when in his way ... Zirin is to be commended on a fully referenced and readable book in which his own sense of commitment to the rule of law, and disapproval of what he describes, are palpable. The roots and resilience of US institutions and culture are under test. It is in all our interests that they stand firm.
It’s only fair to note upfront that Zirin, a former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, appears to have an axe to grind against Donald Trump. That’s not to say that his viewpoint lacks merit but simply to remind the reader that Plaintiff in Chief is not an objective work of journalism ... Rather than adopt a helter-skelter approach to these staggering numbers, Zirin breaks down the litigation into more easily digested, broad topics ... Much of what is contained in the book is not new, at least in terms of the headlines. What is new, however, is the level of detail into which [Zirin] goes to carry his thesis ... 'The Constitution, the rule of law, has no meaning for [Trump], not even the constitutional tradition of majoritarianism with protections for minorities.' Readers will have to draw their own conclusions, but whether they agree or disagree, Plaintiff in Chief offers some very distasteful food for thought.
Former federal prosecutor Zirin...pieces together a highly damning portrait of Donald Trump as a serial abuser of the law, lifelong liar, perjurer, business fraudster, tax evader, racist, and serial perpetrator of sexual assault. The book is so incriminating not only because of the author’s credentials, but also because the details are grounded in approximately 3,500 lawsuits filed by Trump, against Trump, or, in some instances, cross-filed by the opposing parties ... In fact, the documentation provided by Zirin is impossible to refute, by Trump or anybody else who might take exception to this book ... Though the author’s writing is not always easy to follow, as he sometimes lapses into lawyerly jargon, his overall message is achingly clear ... A unique approach to the continuing deconstruction of the Trumpian edifice.
