The Plot Against the President: My rejected Amazon review

It is a tremendous disappointment that we have had no accounting for the greatest scandal by far in American political history. What we have are a few excellent books about it and, now, a documentary based on one of the books.

Lee Smith is the author of The Plot Against the President: The True Story of How Congressman Devin Nunes Uncovered the Biggest Political Scandal in US History. The book is an invaluable companion to Andrew McCarthy’s Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency; it adds to and amplifies the case McCarthy makes.

I wrote at length about McCarthy’s book in “All the president’s men, Obama style” and about Smith’s book in “All the president’s men, take 2.” Smith’s book elaborates on the theme to which I alluded in the heading of that post. I urge all readers with an interest in this incredible scandal to read both books.

Smith’s book has now been adapted into a documentary film that was released last week and made available for viewing on Amazon Prime. Having already racked up a 4.4 star (out of 5) rating based on nearly 600 reviews, it is accessible here.

I watched the film on Amazon Prime last week. I gave it a five-star rating and wrote the following review:

This is a documentary based on one of the best books written about the Russia hoax. It does a good job telling the story and giving it dramatic shape. It may be the closest we come to the administration of justice in the biggest scandal in American political history by far. Unlike just about everything that comes out of Hollywood, including documentaries, the story it tells is true.

When I sought to post my review, it was rejected with the following notice: “We apologize but Amazon is not accepting reviews on this product from this account.” I have written Amazon to ask why.

The film is directed and co-produced by Amanda Milius. Her last name should ring a bell. Her father is the great director, producer, and screenwriter John Milius. Amanda was briefly profiled here by Alex Nitzberg at Just the News last week. Nitzberg quotes her making a salient point that bears directly on the story told in the film: “No matter what happens in the election … if you don’t punish these people they’re just gonna keep doing it.”

I found three of the several talking heads in the film to be out of place: Mike Cernovich, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Jack Posobiec. However, I appreciated the inclusion of the eminent historian Edward Luttwak. Among Luttwak’s many books is Coup d’État: A Practical Handbook. He brings scholarly expertise to the theme of the film. He knows what he is talking about.

It’s an important film. As the truth has slowly emerged — as it was patiently extracted by Rep. Nunes and his staff — we may have become desensitized to the outrages implicit in each of the scandal’s several dimensions. If so, the film will raise the temperature of your blood to boiling once again (trailer below).

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses