Hatchet Man: How Bill Barr Broke the Prosecutor’s Code and Corrupted the Justice Department

Written by Elie Honig

Narrated by Elie Honig

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

“Elie Honig has written much more than a compelling takedown of an unfit attorney general; he also offers a blueprint for how impartial and apolitical justice should be administered in America.”—Preet Bharara

“An essential analysis for anyone committed to understanding the abuses of the Trump administration so we can ensure they never happen again.”—Joyce White Vance

“Essential reading for all who cherish the rule of law in America.”—George Conway

""Written with all the color and pacing of a legal thriller.""—Variety

CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig exposes William Barr as the most corrupt attorney general in modern U.S. history, with stunning new scandals bubbling to the surface even after Barr's departure from office.  

In Hatchet Man, former federal prosecutor Elie Honig uncovers Barr’s unprecedented abuse of power as Attorney General and the lasting structural damage done to the Justice Department. Honig uses his own experience as a prosecutor at DOJ to show how, as America’s top law enforcement official, Barr repeatedly violated the Department’s written rules, and those vital, unwritten norms and principles that comprise the “prosecutor’s code.”

Barr was corrupt from the beginning. His first act as AG was to distort the findings of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, earning a public rebuke for his dishonesty from Mueller himself and, later, from a federal judge. Then, Barr tried to manipulate the law to squash a whistleblower’s complaint about Trump’s dealings with Ukraine—the report that eventually led to Trump’s first impeachment. Barr later intervened in an unprecedented manner to undermine his own DOJ prosecutors on the cases of Michael Flynn and Roger Stone, both political allies of the President. And then Barr fired the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York under false pretenses. Finally, Barr amplified baseless theories about massive mail-in ballot fraud, pouring gasoline on the dumpster fire battle over the 2020 election results and contributing to the January 6 insurrection that led to Trump’s second impeachment.

In Hatchet Man, Honig proves that Barr trampled the two core virtues that have long defined the department and its mission: credibility and independence – ultimately in service of his own deeply-rooted, extremist legal and personal beliefs. Honig shows how Barr corrupted the Justice Department and explains what we must do to prevent this from ever happening again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Jul 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9780063092389

Elie Honig

Elie Honig worked as a federal and state prosecutor for 14 years. He prosecuted and tried cases involving violent crime, human trafficking, public corruption, and organized crime, including successful prosecutions of over 100 members and associates of the mafia. Honig now is a CNN Legal Analyst, hosts podcasts and writes for Cafe, is a Rutgers University scholar, and is Special Counsel to the law firm Lowenstein Sandler.  

Reviews for Hatchet Man

[Jim Bickford · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good book, well laid out, very enjoyable and well read.

[Joy Cichewicz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well told, including details and names. This is an area which needs to be known.

[Andrew Farnsworth · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this. I've read the Woodward, Frum Wolff, Leonigg and Rucker books about the Trump presidency. This book 8s written by a prosecutor and he shows just how corrupt AG Barr was from a lawyers standpoint. He uses real life examples to show how bad Barr's views and decisions were on critical issues and how he has damaged the DOJ.

A good, lively narration from the author.

[Peter Sexton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Unfortunately I watched in horror Barr’s actions in real time, so I knew much of the story. However, Honig does a great job providing the “brief” against Barr. As a juror, I vote to convict. Barr was wrong about so much, but let’s hope in his case history will be written by the winners and Mr. Honig is a winner.

[randypanther · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent analysis which red-cap wearers will dismiss without reading. This should be required reading/listening for those seeking to understand how our democracy is falling apart.

[Lyle Dokken · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

A political hit job with a blatant bias on all aspects

[Roger Mctavish · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This is a real hack job. The author is so biased it is impossible to get the truth from his book.

[William C Linn · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Partisan, though higlights all corruption within all government bureaucracies A-Z

[carolfoisset · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I already knew about many of Barr's inappropriate actions but this book dove in and explained them in detail. I appreciated how Honig gave background information as well as legal and procedural rules and norms to explain why so many of Barr's exploits should never have happened. Honig did a good job of weaving in stories about some of his trial experiences to help explain many of his points.

[froxgirl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Former prosecutor Honig, in this well-written critique, lays out the highly compelling and infuriating case against former Attorney General Bill Barr. Firstly, he skewers Barr for actively seeking the AG job (see Dick Cheney and the Jeopardy guy) despite the fact that he had NEVER prosecuted a case. Honig sees this as a clear disqualifier for the role of chief defender of the Constitution (NOT the president). He cites the many unprecedented actions taken by Barr, against either Dept of Justice rules or traditions, in his quest to bolster his concept of the imperial presidency that places the chief executive above the law. Included in this critical narrative are Honig’s own experiences at the SDNY as a prosecutor in organized crime cases (Gotti) and a view into the workings of that office. He also offers nine reforms to fix what Barr tried to destroy. Hopefully, Merrick Garland will buy this excellent book!Barr’s dirty deeds:- He thwarted the DoJ prosecutions of Flynn and Stone, leading to the resignations of the prosecuting leads in the cases and cutting the knees right out from under them – “Barr’s interference was both politically driven and legally incorrect. He showed the world that DoJ’s own house was not in order by contradicting his own people, in service of dubious ends.” A total of seven prosecutors resigned during his tenure.- He lied and obfuscated to Congress when asked why he was not investigating Trump’s commuting of Stone’s prison sentence, and he denied seeking a lower sentence in the case. The Justice Department charges more than 80,000 defendants annually, and Barr undermined the sentencing recommendation IN THIS ONE CASE ONLY. -He booked a 30k party at Trump’s DC hotel.-He defended Trump’s defaming of E. Jean Carroll, saying that Trump was “acting within the scope of his office.”-He authorized federal agents to use force on civilians to set the stage for a campaign event, and lied about it.-He never publicly acknowledged the plot to kidnap MI governor Whitmer nor condemned any right-wing terrorists, contributing to the Jan 6th insurrection.-He discussed ongoing investigations publicly, ignoring the “blackout rule” (Comey had done the same as FBI Director)-He lied about ballot fraud in Texas-He was in thrall to the Federalist Society and to advancing a stronger role for religion in politics, decrying the “evils of secularism”-He reversed course when it became clear that Trump was going to lose the 2020 electionThe book went to press before the latest revelations that Trump, when Barr resigned, considered firing Acting AG Rosen in favor of Jeffrey Clark, who had been introduced to Trump by a Pennsylvania politician and had told the president that he agreed that fraud had affected the election results.Quotes: "Barr used every tool at his disposal to protect Trump from Mueller's investigation."“The exasperating trademark of the Mueller Report: here’s a bunch of damning evidence, but who’s to say if it constitutes a crime?”

[perednia_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Excellently organized, cogent dissection of Barr's actions at the Department of Justice that shattered prosecutorial standards to serve his political and cultural beliefs. A well-written primer on what happened that includes Honig's recommendations for how to restore integrity at DOJ. The book resonates because his interest is in supporting the work at DOJ as far more important than making political points.