Find Me the Votes: A Hard-Charging Georgia Prosecutor, a Rogue President, and the Plot to Steal an American Election

by Michael Isikoff

From veteran award-winning investigative journalists Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman, the epic inside story of the prosecution of a president.   In Find Me the Votes, two years of immersive reporting by Isikoff and Klaidman has produced the most authoritative and dramatic account yet of a defeated president’s conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election and how a local Georgia prosecutor—a daughter of the civil rights movement—decided to indict him and his allies for his desperate attempt to hold on to power.  From the beginning, Fani Willis saw Donald Trump’s crimes as a voting rights case, and an attempt by the former president to deprive the citizens of Georgia of the franchise, a right for which her forebears had bled.    Isikoff and Klaidman take us deep inside both the nerve center of Trump’s effort to steal the election and the DA’s team of prosecutors as they build their case against the president. Their reporting reveals new information on the plot to criminally seize voting equipment in several states; Sidney Powell’s attempt to obtain preemptive pardons from Trump; and revelatory communications between the president and his co-conspirators. We see the prosecution take shape in Willis’s office in the face of heinous threats of violent retaliation from Trump’s supporters.    With blockbuster original reporting and exclusive access to thousands of secret documents, emails, text messages, and audio recordings, Find Me the Votes is investigative journalism at its finest. The authors also conducted exclusive interviews with key sources in the Trump conspiracy, as well as with the president’s top targets, including Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger and the Fulton County DA’s team–featuring hours of interviews with Fani Willis herself. This is riveting contemporary history, and a lasting account of the prosecution of a president who tested the rule of law as no president ever had before. Isikoff and Klaidman have written a story for the ages.  

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Audiobook, History, Crime, Presidents, American History

352 pages, Hardcover

Published January 30, 2024

About the author

Michael Isikoff is an investigative journalist who has worked for the Washington Post, Newsweek, and NBC News. He is the author of two New York Timesbestsellers, Uncovering Clinton: A Reporter’s Story and Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War (co-written with David Corn). He is a frequent guest on MSNBC, CNN, and other TV talk shows. Isikoff is currently the chief investigative correspondent for Yahoo News.

Reviews

[Beauregard Bottomley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Election deniers are willful participants in suspending disbelief and claim to believe the absurd for furtherance of enabling their special brand of terror on democracy.

They want a leader to tell them how to think and what to believe in even if their evidence for election fraud involves a mother giving a daughter a tic-tac, or a creation of a fake Instagram page cited by their power-hungry leaders.

I suspect they know it is crazy to believe such rubbish but they say they believe Democrats do the same thing and that justifies it for them. I don’t know if they really believe the garbage, or if they act like they do, either way, I don’t really care what’s in their heart, because their actions are what I hate.

There was a weird number of appeals to higher powers and divinity not revealing itself because of divine hiddenness until a day or two later with a phone call or a magical event intervening in the form of a sex scandal. That’s how the authors often described Fani Willis and her journey. By the authors giving credence to divine action, they also give credence to the alleged conspirators and their self-appointed mission with God's certainty, a dangerous way to frame the story.

Religion was clearly a talisman for the conspirators featured in this book. Lin Wood, an election denier, and alleged conspirator had ties to Nick Fuentes (a Catholic Fascist), Kanye West, and William Pierce the author of the vilest book ever “Turner Diaries.” At Lin Wood’s Thermopylae Plantation in Virginia, he allegedly conspired to destroy democracy and had a dream of marching around Jericho seven times to watch democracy collapse. For those unfamiliar with the story, the Bible claims after Jericho fell God ordered his special chosen to smash the babies against the rocks, kill all but the virgins, and take them as sex servants to wed and rape after having had them watch the special chosen people kill their parents, older sisters, brothers, and mothers.

I don’t know if they really believe that the election wasn’t fair, but I do know they want to become the chosen people and force their false facts on to the rest of America as they equate themselves with Spartans at Thermopylae, the ultimate fascist state, and Lin Woods dream of watching Jericho collapse also should act as a warning to what will come next.

Sparta, Germany 1933-1945, and the Confederate States were all anti-democratic hellscapes and are the model election deniers want. Lin Wood encapsulates all three with Thermopylae, Nick Fuentes, and feting the author of “The Turner Diaries,” and his southern Plantation. This is who they are, it is not hard to recognize them for their anti-democratic election denying threats they really are. Invoking Jericho means one should read just one page further in the story to see where they want to take the sequel.

The depth of the nonsense that the conspirators accept as true because it suits their ultimate vision is reiterated within this book. Let it be a warning to us all and how the assumption of rationality and the charity of understanding are not applicable when dealing with MAGA. They are inspired by Jericho and fascists and are willing to accept the absurd to become the special chosen people they think they are.

[Lexi Mag · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was SOOOOO good. I've been wanting to learn more about each of the cases against Trump. This one was about his RICO case in Georgia. A must read for any American who wants to know the length the Trump team went to steal the 2020 election.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have once again decided to embark on a mission to read a number of books on subjects that will be of great importance to the upcoming 2024 US Presidential Election. This was a great success as I prepared for 2020, with an outcome at the polls (and antics by both candidates up to Inauguration Day) that only a fiction writer might have come up with at the time! Many of these will focus on actors and events intricately involved in the US political system over the last few years, in hopes that I can understand them better and, perhaps, educate others with the power to cast a ballot. I am, as always, open to serious recommendations from anyone who has a book I might like to include in the process.

With the events of July 21, 2024, when Joe Biden chose not to seek re-election, the challenge has become harder to properly reflect the Democratic side. I will do the best I can to properly prepare and offer up books that can explore the Biden Administration, as well as whomever takes the helm into November.

This is Book #24 in my 2024 US Election Preparation Challenge.

While the entire 2020 election process was a complete mess, events surrounding the false allegations of voting fraud across America and the January 6, 2021 insurrection only added fuel to the fire. In their great book, investigative journalists Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman shed new light on these events, as well as the criminal proceedings brought against many—including former president Trump—during Georgia’s crackdown on spreading falsehoods and election interference during the 2020 vote counting. While the authors pull no punches, this primer provides the reader with some insights and explores some of the key players in the entire debacle, as well as how a newly-elected District Attorney decided to take on the authoritarian crybaby and his pack of hungry lawyers. An insightful book that is sure to cause waves amongst those who are blinded by the rhetoric.

Before delving too deeply into the corrupt and baseless allegations that arose after the 2020 election, the authors use the opening part of the book to offer up a biographical account of Fani Willis, newly-elected District Attorney of Fulton County and someone who will become highly important in the judicial process found in the latter part of the book. Fani Willis had a unique upbringing as a young Black girl and daughter to a well-established Civil Rights attorney. Her passion for the law came at an early age, as Fani watched her father work and she caught onto how things worked. Fani sought to rectify wrongs and would not stand down, no matter who stood before her, as exemplified throughout this piece. Fani Willis knew what she had to do when allegations of interference and pressuring Georgia political figures—namely the Governor and Secretary of State—surrounding the 2020 election. While the world watched, Fani Willis made herself known and supported the rules laid out in the Georgia constitution to ensure fair and clear election results emerged, while those who would intimidate were brought up on charges.

The book’s second section explores the 2020 presidential election and voting fraud allegations, rife with drama and accusations. While I will not recount all the dirty details here, the authors give a great summary of events and the preparatory comments made by President Trump if he were not to win, about how election fraud would likely be the case. To make such comments, almost baiting the hook, opens the door to a curious method the Trump Campaign was using to wipe the slate clean only if things did not go their way.

After the results were in and the election tilted in Joe Biden’s way, the rhetoric came out. Trump lawyers began making their outlandish accusations and scheming as best they could. The authors make it clear this was a new level of grasping at straws, though many watched in awe and these lawyers, spurned on by a losing president, sought to find issues where there were none. The allegations led to pressure by the Trump legal team—headed by Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani for a time—and President himself, calling both the Georgia Governor and the Secretary of State to swing things in the other direction. It was here that things went south for the Trump campaign, as this was meddling and trying to influence state officials to falsify election results. The red flags went up and the new District Attorney for Fulton County took notice, Fani Willis represented the area in which the Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, lived and the crime—a recorded on a call between Raffensperger and President Trump—occurred. This was new level and DA Wallis could not sit idly by.

Isikoff and Klaidman take the reader deep inside the legal analysis to bring charges against members of Trump’s legal team, President Trump himself, as well as various other actors, including the White House Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows. The blazen disregard for actions taken cannot be dismissed as ‘impassioned hope’ or trying to fight for what was right. The law is clear, even if Trump states that fraud creates new sets of rules that work outside the typical guidelines, another blatant lie meant to muddy the waters. As the criminal investigation and grand jury testimony progressed, things got quite raw and witnesses were blunt in their assertions, which led to many of the Trump legal team taking plea bargains and Donald J, Trump having a mug shot when he was booked in Georgia. DA Willis did what she was tasked by the Fulton County electorate to do. This goes to show that lies are not always substantiated just because you want them to be an punishment is real, even if it is slow to reveal itself and Trump was permitted to run in 2024.

A book of this nature is sure to stir up a great deal of emotion on both sides of the argument. Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman do not hold back in this piece, nor should they. Their investigative journalist background help solidify the need to dig deeper and bring truths to light. The book was well-balanced with sentiments of both Democrats and Republicans, offering readers an inside look into how things unravelled in Georgia, as well as many of the unfounded allegations that were brought up (and have yet to be substantiated). While there are surely things that both sides will call as off or misrepresented, no one can scream disinformation, as the authors use court and legal documents, phone call recordings and transcripts, as well as much needed interviews to clear up some of the misnomers that have emerged. The reader can see the grandiose commentary offered by the Trump legal team and how quickly it was deflated, from lies about ballots, to counting, and even how trying to influence political figures goes nowhere except towards criminal indictments. With the next election looking, one can only wonder what new crackpot ideas the Trump campaign has ready to go. Show me to truth through the fair casting of vote by all, both in Georgia and throughout the United States. Let the results speak clearly for all to accept, without caveat!

Kudos, Messrs. Isikoff and Klaidman, for an eye-opening exploration of events and peeling back truths for all to see.

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

[Kenny Schwarz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is well written and an interesting take on one of the many criminal trials that former President Trump is rightly facing. That being said, the authors here go over the top in their anti-Trump personal bias and in their near hero worship of Willis. Regarding the latter, one has to wonder if the authors have any buyer’s remorse in placing a halo on Willis’s head given that recent news has revealed her personal conduct has greatly endangered a very winnable case. Somewhat surprising that none of those details came to light for these authors (or if it did, they chose not to include it) given the relatively narrow focus of this book. Time will tell if Willis is really the champion the authors so desperately want her to be.

[Geo Forman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I particularly appreciated the biographical section early in the book. I have a much clearer understanding of Fani Willis. I find her wisdom lacking in that she seems to make "what were you thinking" decisions at various points in her adult life, not just the recent untimely affair with one of her prosecutors. The rest of the book deals with the case against Trump and his codefendants. I was surprised by how much new information was presented. I'm sure this book will be very helpful in understanding the results of Willis's investigation.

[John Schorg · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seems absurdly early to come out with this book before the trial at its heart takes place. Too often, it reads like a puff piece for prosecutor Fani Willis more than a straightforward account of the case. Still, the incredible arrogance and stupidity of those who committed these outrageous acts remains astonishing to read.

[Ashton Prasatek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Torn about this book. I enjoyed learning more about DA Willis, but the timing if the book and the details it left out really make me scratch my head. A puff piece on a DA in the middle of the biggest prosecution of her tenure? No details or investigation was done by the authors into the current drama in the Courtroom regarding her past relationship with Nathan Wade.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A SHATTERING RECOUNTING OF TRUMP’S CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES IN GEORGIA

Journalists Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman wrote in the Prologue to this 2024 book, “It was a terrifying sign of the times---a publicly elected local prosecutor facing threats of violence for doing her job. But for [Fani] Willis…[threats] only made her more determined to pursue the course she had chosen… But… the most appalling consequence of Trump’s war in Georgia was the number of innocent people victimized by his relentless conspiracy-mongering…. And it wasn’t just public servants who were in the line of fire: many of their children and parents, siblings, spouses, and colleagues were also targeted with impunity.” (Pg. 2-3) They continue, “But there was undoubtedly some sort of cosmic justice in the fact that… it fell to a determined Black local DA to find accountability for what Trump had tried to do… Fani Willis is a uniquely American character rooted in a community whose spirit, history, and culture [Trump] knew nothing about.” (Pg. 5)

They recount, “In March 2020, amid alarm over COVID, [Georgia secretary of state Brad] Raffensperger decided to mail out absentee ballot applications to every registered voter in the state. He promptly got attacked for it by the president’s allies in the state… Whatever its impact elsewhere, Trump’s anti-mail-in voting jihad was undercutting the best chance Georgia Republicans had to get their aging voters---at least those worried they might get sick from COVID---to vote that year…. Trump was using the issue to publicly lay the groundwork to challenge the election results, and rile up his angry army of supporters, just in case he came up short.” (Pg. 85-86)

They report, “Bryan Tyson, a Georgia Republican election lawyer who had been hired by the Trump campaign… pushed back [against claims of fraud]… Where’s the evidence to back any of this up? The basis for … claims about out-of-state votes was that [they] had found voters registered in other states with similar names to Georgia voters. But, Tyson asked, how do you know the John Smith who lives in New York is the same John Smith who voted in Georgia? Have you checked middle names? Their ages and birth dates?... For Tyson’s trouble, [the Trump campaign] accused him of being ‘disloyal’ and unwilling to fight for the president.” (Pg. 86-87

They recall, “On November 5… Trump lawyer [Cleta] Mitchell asked [other Trump lawyer] John Eastman, “Could Eastman provide a legal memo arguing that state legislatures could ‘reclaim’ their ‘constitutional duty’ to designate their own electors---regardless of state laws… requiring governors to designate presidential electors based on the winner of the popular vote? ‘Am I crazy?’ she asked Eastman, a seeming sign that she realized the idea was… off the wall. Still, she wrote: ‘A movement is stirring. But it needs constitutional support.’” (Pg. 89)

On November 19, “Raffensperger announced that a full statewide recount, including an audit of thousands of ballots checked by hand, had affirmed Biden’s narrow victory in Georgia. It was an important milestone. Hand recounts couldn’t be hacked or flipped by secret algorithms, so to credibly argue that fraud had occurred, you would have to believe that Raffensperger’s staff had worked with local election workers to deliberately miscount the ballots…” (Pg. 94-95)

Texas lawyer and podcast host Jacki Pick produced an infamous surveillance video that supposedly showed “election workers… hauling out ‘suitcases’ stuffed with thousands of ballots… and jamming them repeatedly through scanners… [It] showed two election workers, Wandrea ‘Shaye’ Moss… and her mother Ruby Freeman… dragging the ‘suitcases’ out from under their desks and moving around the room…” But “the entire video flap turned out to be a case of bureaucratic screwups… with miscommunications… that were twisted beyond recognition… [The workers] had been working for eighteen straight hours… [Registration Chief] Ralph Jones … concluded that the vote scanning would pick up again early the next morning… Moss and Freeman stayed to close up shop. They put the unscanned ballots in large plastic ballot carrier bins, sealed them up, and placed them under desks, normal protocols to prevent tampering.” (Pg. 106-108) The secretary of state’s report states, “Both poll watchers confirmed that no one was told or instructed to leave.. the GOP observers … had left of their own volition.” (Pg. 111) After a Trump tweet accused Moss and Freeman of fraud, they received death threats, etc., and Freeman later testified, “Do you know how it feels to have the president of the United States target you?” (Pg. 115)

Georgia chief operations officer Gabriel Sterling told Trump in a phone call, “Mr. President, it looks like you likely lost the state of Georgia… you have the right to go through the courts… you need to … stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence…. ‘Someone’s going to get hurt… Someone’s going to get killed.” (Pg. 143-144)

They note, “Trump’s meeting with [US Senator Johnny] Isakson was… exposing the president’s raw fury toward [Governor Brian] Kemp; for refusing to bend to his wishes---a hostility that would shape the critical weeks at the end of 2020 when the president and his allies made Georgia the setting for their last stand… the lawsuits being filed by the motley crew of [Trump’s] lawyers… were being rejected left and right… the Trump team began resorting to ever more extreme tactics.” (Pg. 151) For example, of the ‘fake electors’ scheme, they recount, “In official-looking documents submitted to Congress and government officers … they proclaimed themselves ‘duly elected’ electors when they had been elected by nobody but themselves..” (Pg. 167)

They report, “Trump at first tried to get [Acting attorney general Jeffrey] Rosen and [Deputy attorney general Richard] Donoghue on board with denying the validity of the election… Rosen and Donoghue… told Trump at least four times that what [Rudy] Guiliani kept saying about the Fulton County video was flat-out false… [Donoghue said] ‘I told the President myself… several times… that these allegations about ballots being smuggled in a suitcase and run through machines several times… [were] not true, that we had looked into it…’” (Pg. 183)

They observe, “The clock was ticking toward January 6, when Trump was… hop[ing] that a giant public outpouring would bolster his last implausible move: getting Vice President Pence to unilaterally reject certifying Biden electors in the contested battleground states once friendly Republican members of Congress objected to the certification. But in order for the strategy to have a prayer of success, he and his lawyers needed a win---somewhere… they looked … to Georgia, where the final certified tally by Raffensperger had him behind by 11,779 votes… [But] Raffensperger did a Fox News interview… Raffensperger went through the numbers… the evidence was clear. A not insignificant number of Republican voters in Georgia---enough to make the difference---had turned away from Trump, casting ballots for GOP candidates down-ballot but choosing Biden (or a third-party … candidate)…” (Pg. 185-186)

They recount of Trump’s infamous phone call with Raffensperger, “The call lasted sixty-two minutes. Trump did nearly three-quarters of the talking, repeating the same points over and over… throwing out so many numbers and convoluted claims that Raffensperger and his team had a hard time keeping up… ‘The bottom line is… 300,000 fake ballots,’ Trump said. None of this was remotely true… The total confirmed ‘dead’ voters… had been not five THOUSAND but two… None [of the absentee ballots] had been shown to have forged signatures… ‘We don’t agree that you have won,’ [Raffensperger] said politely but emphatically enough that he conveyed there was not room for negotiation… Trump was soon… fixated on Ruby Freeman … The African American … election worker was, Trump said, ‘a professional vote scammer’ and a ‘hustler.’ … It was apparent … that Trump was getting much of his information from random postings by MAGA warriors on right-wing websites… There was little question in Raffensperger’s mind… [that] Trump was … ‘threaten[ing] Ryan and me with prosecution if we don’t do what he tells us to do.’ … Trump, getting increasingly frustrated… cut to the chase: ‘…I just want to find 11,780 votes… Give me a break.’ …The next morning, Trump was the first to disclose the phone call… [Trump said], ‘[Raffensperger] was unwilling, or unable, to answer questions such as the ‘ballots under table’ scam… dead voters, and more. He had no clue!’ Raffensperger… respond[ed] … on Twitter: ‘… What you’re saying is not true. The truth will come out.’ It didn’t take long. Later that day the tape of the phone call popped up in the inbox… at the Washington Post. The story broke… It was all the evidence Fani Willis needed to get started.” (Pg. 189-196)

Trump summoned Pence to his office on January 5th. Pence told Trump “He would stick to his constitutional role---to count the votes, not decide which ones to count…. That night, Trump released a statement… that he and [Pence] were in ‘total agreement’ that Pence had the authority … to ‘decertify the results’ and ‘send them back to the states for change.’ Pence could scarcely believe it. It was the exact opposite of what he had told Trump… hours earlier.” (Pg. 207)

They conclude, “The ultimate question raised by Willis’s indictment is whether someone as powerful as a former president … can be held accountable at all… By tearing down institutions that are central … Trump had effectively helped to create a political free-fire zone where… wild conspiracy theories … flourished as never before.” (Pg. 289)

This book will be “must reading” for anyone seriously studying the 2020 election and its aftermath.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Behind the scenes investigation of Fani Willis's rise to become the District Attorney of Fulton County, Georgia and several cases which have brought her to national prominence including the infamous indictment of the 45th President of the United States and his minions.
The authors didn't just rely on hearsay, but several times during the book were comments about their finding information.

[Abdul · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Find Me the Votes" delivers a gripping account of one of the most alarming episodes in American political history – the attempted coup to steal an election. With the narrative prowess of a seasoned thriller, the book peels back the layers of corruption and ineptitude surrounding Donald Trump's inner circle, revealing a cast of characters whose moral compasses have long since shattered.

Through the lens of a hard-charging Georgia prosecutor, the reader is taken on a harrowing journey through the underbelly of American democracy, where the stakes couldn't be higher. Trump emerges as a dangerous and ignoble demagogue, willing to trample over the very foundations of democracy to cling to power.

As the story unfolds, it becomes abundantly clear that Trump's ambitions know no bounds, and the lengths to which he and his cohorts are willing to go are chilling. But amidst the chaos and corruption, a rallying cry emerges – a call to arms for all Americans to stand up and defend the sanctity of their democracy.

"Find Me the Votes" serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of democracy and the ever-present threat posed by those who would seek to undermine it. It's a true page-turner that not only entertains but also educates and motivates. As citizens, we have a duty to ensure that the events depicted in this book remain firmly in the realm of history – and that those responsible are held accountable for one of the more heinous crimes of the 21st century.

[Taylor J · Rating 1 out of 5]

You aren’t a real person if you like this book. It’s known this lady is a hack and was installed to have Trump removed. This needs to go into the list of books about election interference.

[HR-ML · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this non-fiction book about Fani Willis, Trump
& the outcome of the Georgia 2020 Presidential election.
Audiobook, gave this 4 stars.

Fani was an exacting overachiever who stayed at the
college library & subsequently the law library, until
it closed for the evening. She challenged her mentor/
won against him, Paul Young, the DA of Fulton Co.,
after she learned he had credible sexual harassment
& assault charges made by 2 subordinates. As DA she
inherited unresolved cases IE murders, rapes, gangs.

Trump claimed the 2020 election was "rigged" by
Democrats in battleground states. He claimed GA had
blocked voters, dead people voted, & out of state voters.
He called GA Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger &
asked him to find 11,780 votes. Several others were on
both sides of this call. Unknown to all, Brad's Chief of
Staff, Jordan Fuchs, also on the call, had recorded this
call. She later informed Brad of this fact & anonymously
left this audio tape in the in-box of a Washington Post
reporter.

GOP operatives showed hubris. White House Chief of Staff
Mark Meadows showed up w/o warning on 12/22/20, insisted
on observing the Cobb Co, GA audit of signatures on mailed
in ballots. Jordan Fuchs said no and a Georgia Bureau of
Investigation member reinforced what she said. On 1/7/21,
Kathy Latham, a Coffee Co. GA election worker permitted
4 Trump operatives to do a cyber heist! They used USB
sticks to capture 2020 Presidential election results for each
county in Georgia. This took 7 hours. Neither state nor
federal law allowed such activities. An election integrity
activist sued the state over this. Ballot records were strictly
for Bd of Election employees to handle/ process or the GA.
Secy of State or his designee. Several attorneys working w/
Trump knew this was illegal activity.

Fani presented 39 defendants allegedly involved in the GA.
election conspiracy, eventually this was reduced to 19,
including Trump. She used the GA. RICO law (originally
used for gangsters). She was threatened by some MAGA
persons at work and home, as were her 2 grown daughters.
She had to go into hiding.

GA. elected officials put country ahead of party (GOP) by
providing an "iron wall" against Trump: including Brad,
Brian Kemp (Governor), Chris Carr (Attorney General),
Gabriel Sterling (COO) & others to ensure an accurate vote
count. Brad and his wife & some others were threatened.
Also Shay Moss & Ruby Freeman, election workers. All of
these threats should be felonies. No one should be
terrorized for doing his/her official job.

My fav scene? US Rep. Jim Jordan called to lecture Fani Willis
about the RICO law. Jordan was a trained lawyer, but never
took the bar exam. She suggested Jordan buy the book by
RICO expert John Floyd for $250!

I hope Trump 'faces the music' in the near future & Fani
Willis is his ticket to the Big House, GA.-style.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read his previous book, with David Corn, Russian Roulette. Which if I remember was better. I think it’s because I’ve following the news. And knew most of what was in the books. The bigger story I knew, the “Phone call”. Later, on I learned about Coffee county. The bits and pieces of Cheesboro, Powell, the Eastman, and Clarke. I was finally able to put the pieces together. So if you don’t know anything about the case. I recommend you read it. If you follow the news. You may think it was a waste of time, and money if you purchase the book. I was able to get a library copy. I skipped the last chapter as it was the author’s thought.

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, the paperback edition better have more of Nathan Wade story since publication! It broke after this was published. I do like reporting by Isikoff and here, his partner Klaidman. And I'll be voting for Fani Willis as well as two of these judges on May 21 in local primary. Thanks to Fulton County Public Library for the loan. And go, Fulton County prosecutors, follow the cases.

[Ed Schmauder · Rating 4 out of 5]

About one of Trump’s many crimes.

[PAM HRICIK · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a political junkie I wasn't sure I would learn much new information from this book but I was wrong! It was written so well and in such a way that it often read like a suspense novel, even though I knew the ending. And although we have all been living through this nightmarish saga over the past few years, to read the book with all of the behind the scenes stories was fascinating, informative, as well as horrifying. I think we have become so numb to the tearing down of norms and illegal behavior from Trump and his allies that it's just noise we want to turn off. But when I read this book I was snapped back into the reality that a psychopathic narcissist with no regard for our laws or institutions is on his way to becoming the Republican nominee for President, AGAIN! Despite being indicted for what he did after the last election! I encourage everyone to read this book to be reminded of how dangerous he truly is. Our democracy is on the line!

Also, I have to add that Fani Willis is a total badass! I have so much respect and admiration for her. And even though I'm a Democrat to my core, I must admit that if it weren't for Kemp, Raffensperger and a few other Georgia GOP officials (and Mike Pence too), the 2020 election may actually have been stolen by Trump. This book reminds me how important it is that we elect good, decent people who believe in the truth and the rule of law.

[Regan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read. Isikoff and Klaidman take their readers through DA Willis's early history and how she became the amazing woman and attorney she is. Her father was such a marvelous guide in her life. They then take readers through a step by step of how and why Willis made the decisions she did regarding the case against Trump and the other RICO defendants. They don't just talk about Trump and the phone call to the governor, but the earlier RICO cases she prosecuted and how she made those decisions. They show readers another side of Emily Khors, the special grand jury foreperson and how she was a much more thoughtful and intelligent person than portrayed in the news after the fact. While this could have been a dry read but their writing voice draws you in and you soon find you can't put the book down until you've read the last page.

[Eileen Cohen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This well-written, impeccably researched, and highly readable account is a stunning counterweight to the media's and the citizenry's collective amnesia about the transgressions of the former president, his enablers, and his followers when comes to the Georgia vote count. Every single U.S. voter should read it, and soon.

[Anitha Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will written!

I can remember many of the things written in the book from the news. I believe the book is truthful. I would recommend the book to anyone who is interested in the truth about DA Willis.
Remember this book was released before the accusations against her came up.

[Jquick99 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great primer for those who haven’t been keeping up/paying attention to what’s going on re Trump + election results + indictments.

Disclosure: I’m a Libertarian and don’t prefer either Trump or Biden, and wish they’d both retire/go away.

I’ve purposely NOT paid any attention to any news related to Jan 6th/Trump post Election Day. And would have gladly kept it that way, except for the author…who, I have really enjoyed his other books, published this, so I (being a fan) had to read this.

This is 4 stars instead of 5 due to the book starts off slow…too much minutea re the background and harassment of some of the “players” (and a lot of this is repeated later in the book). So I skipped ahead until the “action” starts, at chapter 5. I have the audiobook, which isn’t the best form, since I don’t know the names and remembering who is who has been difficult (I think in book form, maybe there are photos to help remember who is who, or listing of people & office). Which lead me to google people …

I realize that there are articles on my gossipy site (Daily Mail) that I haven’t been paying attention to…about some couple having an affair…and I now realize that it involves DA Willis who appointed Special Prosecutor Wade in 2022, and that they allegedly started having an affair in 2019.

So, now Trump’s people are calling her a home wrecker/liar (claiming NO affair when clearly there has been)/giving lucrative (fees up to $1MM) job to lover/using gov’t $ to travel/cruise together ….and that she should be recused from all involvement due to conflict of interest.

Unbelievable. We are officially in either Soap Opera land, or sadder, (if true) DA Willis has made some awful decisions. I’m disappointed that someone who comes across in the book as so upstanding would be so foolish to become involved with a married man and then to appoint him as SP. Didn’t she know everything she did would be scrutinized to the nth degree?

The author has clearly written a hagiography about DA Willis, but where was ALL his investigative journalism skills? I’m disappointed in the author, but do think the book is still a great primer re who did what.

[Eric]

To use a cliche, this story has been "ripped from the headlines" and also one that doesn't have an ending, yet.
In "Find Me the Votes," authors Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman weave a story involving multiple people from across the country that found themselves wittingly and unwittingly involved in a post-election attempt to alter the outcome. The cast of characters and places are assembled and listed at the beginning of the book. They include: the Fulton County District Attorney's Office, The White House, The Rayshard Brooks Shooting, Georgia Secretary of State's Office, Georgia General Assembly, Members of Congress, Trump Election Lawyers, Trump Defense Lawyers, Westin Arlington Gateway Hotel, At Ruby Freeman's House, Jan. 6 Committee, MAGA Extremists, The Coffee County Breach, and many others.
Legal machinations are still in the works and we don't know if this case will blossom into a criminal trial, but readers are led through the beginnings of the alleged crime and the subsequent investigations.
Isikoff and Klaidman take us behind the scenes and share some plots so incredible they would seem to come from a Hollywood scriptwriter's fevered brain.
"With Trump making little headway in getting Georgia officials to do his handiwork, the effort to flip the election results were entering its final, manic phase. On December 18, core members of Lin Wood's Tomotley team - (Sidney) Powell, Mike Flynn and (former CEO of Overstock.com) Patrick Byrne - came to the White House with an outlandish plan of action. Trump should declare that there had been foreign interference in the US election, install Powell as the White House 'special counsel,' name Flynn as 'field marshal,' create a federal 'strike force' to seize the election machines in six counties across the country, livestream a recount in those counties via the internet, and then, assuming the search for fraud hit pay dirt, 'rerun the election' in battleground states - all before a new president could inaugurated on January 20, 2021."
I found this a fascinating read of our very recent history and one that should give voters pause in the election booth this November.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had sworn off books regaling the reader with the seemingly-endless river of sins committed by the Trump Administration and family. Not that it isn't important to understand how Trump and his cronies besmirched the White House and took a sledgehammer to the American political system (some of you might say that was a good thing) in ways both large and small, but I just needed to go to a different genre.

And then "Find Me the Votes" came out. I feel a little emotional connection to this story having lived in Atlanta for nearly five years, and I confess that I don't know the Georgia political scene the way I used to.

Michael Isikoff and team provide a helpful biography of Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis, who came up far from the silver spoon neighborhoods of the South to become a feared prosecutor with a talent for applying Georgia's far-reaching RICO statutes. This story occupies about the first third of the book, and by the end of that section you are glad that you've never been in Fani Willis's cross-hairs. She is tough, smart, and knows her way around a courtroom and a jury.

The book then turns to the Trump team's efforts to steal the Georgia election. Thanks in part to their own incompetence at reading the political landscape in Georgia, Trump lost a close election . . . but he refused to accept the loss, throwing ridiculous argument after ridiculous argument and treating unfounded assertions as facts, all of which led to getting laughed out of court (this happened in multiple states, so you may be forgiven if this is a bit of a muddle). Driven by shamelessness and a desperate desire to win, Trump eventually crossed the line from political hyperbole and hucksterism into committing crimes.

And Fani was there.

This story is not yet done, and as I write this it seems that Trump has a good chance of returning to the White House. So we don't know where this story will go.

An all-time cliff-hanger of a real-world thriller, "Find Me the Votes" deserves to be read . . . unfortunately, the people who most desperately need to read this book never will.

Highly recommended.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of insightful context about the conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. I appreciated the way it presented a compelling and nuanced profile of the lead prosecutor Fani Willis as well as the variety of people who had to deal with being pressured by a sitting President and threatened by his supporters. Despite some of the dark things this covers, it really shows the impact everyday people can have.

Some standouts include the conservative 30-year-old Georgia Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs who physically blocked Mark Meadows from entering the recount room in order to prevent him from pressuring workers. She is also the person who recorded the now infamous "find me the votes" phone call. Also the frequently mocked foreperson of the Fulton County grand jury Emily Kohrs who actually proved to be impressively formidable at questioning witnesses - reading more about her seriously made her sound like Elle Woods in Legally Blonde (I mean that as a high compliment).

Unfortunately, this book wraps up before some of the efforts to disqualify Fani Willis from the case as well as the troubling changes to election law in Georgia, so those looking for insights into that will have to continue to follow the evolving story.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was interested to read this book to learn more about the apparently remarkable and unique Fani Willis, the district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia who investigated the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Her investigation resulted in indictments against Donald Trump and 18 alleged co-conspirators on charges of racketeering and other crimes with the arraignments including mug shots and ancillary legal wrangling have been in the news. Much about her history with a Black Panther father, a fierce corruption-fighting career, and deep Catholic faith are here. What makes the book most interesting and engrossing is how Georgia is a real epicenter for the fake electors scheme and this becomes a microhistory pulling together the threads of the actions leading to charges against Trump, (but not Mark Meadows?), Rudy Giuliani, SIdney Powell, John Eastmen, and more in Fulton County.

[Ken Block · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides a fascinating new perspective on efforts to push the false voter fraud narrative after the 2020 election. While everyone knows the names of the characters that were involved, Isikoff provides the glue that ties all of these folks into an organized effort.

In the months after the election, John Eastman, Sidney Powell, Lin Wood, Michael Flynn, Cleta Mitchell, and sometimes Rudy Giuliani operated out of a South Carolina estate owned by Lin Wood. This is a stunning revelation.

The book is extremely well-written and is composed of three parts. I call the first section 'Fani Willis the early years.' This section had the least interest to me but is a required element for a book like this. The second section details the effort to impugn the election, while the last section describes the Fulton County District Attorney's case against Trump and the travel of that case up until the writing for the book stopped.

Definitely recommended reading for anyone looking to better understand the efforts made to claim voter fraud.

[Jared Hamby · Rating 4 out of 5]

The insight into the length that the Trump team went to in attempts to overturn the 2020 election is incredibly fascinating and horrifying. This book keeps you on the edge of your seat with twists and turns and wtf moments just like the best true crime podcast or docuseries but ultimately I have to dock it a point for how it botches the ending and ends up ringing hollow. It in no way mentions the incredible lapse in judgement by Fani Willis in her affair with her lead prosecutor that took place during the trial and ultimately could lead to a dismissal of the trial or at least her participation in it. The book goes out of its way to tell us about how hard charging no nonsense Fani is and what an astute calculated attorney she can be , but then doesn't give us the ending that we already know is coming. Maybe that information wasn't public at the time of writing? I'm not sure. I wanted to love the book, 5 stars, but just felt it ended flatly, knowing so much of this doesn't even seem to matter and Fani's involvement a big reason.

[David Allwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although broadcast news is fascinated with Trump, the only way to comprehensively understand the complexity of his duplicity and corruption is to be open to books such as, ‘Find Me The Votes’ by investigative reporters, Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman. In this revealing book, these highly reputable journalists have delved into, and carefully chronicled, the complex and convoluted Trump-led conspiracy to overturn the 2020 US election. Broadly, this is a riveting and historic chronology of the prosecution of an American president. It is shocking and compelling in equal measure and revelatory through the depth of research. It is a disturbing story, at times dry and complex, but always readable. Rather than banning books, this expose should be mandatory reading for all Republicans, indeed all Americans, prior to the 2024 election. The authors don’t just reveal what occurred in Fulton County, Georgia, but disturbingly detail the ramifications for America’s fragile democratic future.

[Colin Mathews · Rating 5 out of 5]

This took me some time to get through as this is a very heavy read. This book is about the indictment of the then former president in Fulton County Georgia. I see points from both sides of the story. However, here’s what just makes me scratch my head. There’s so many talks about threats from Donald Trump in this boom and I’m reading it really curious and interested to see what they are and the chapters just end and there’s never a threat made. This book will also really make you ask yourself is Donald Trump good or is he bad? One thing that you can’t deny rather you’re a Trump supporter or an anti Trump person is his ability to over come all these odds is truly something special. He is one tough dude that used all of these indictments to his advantage, and after all this took place, he gave America the greatest political come back ever.

[Joey Alford · Rating 4 out of 5]

He is what we think he is and we keep letting him off the hook. He wants to create a deep state of ultra loyal sycophants implanted at every level of the administrative branch. He has moved us towards third world political status with unproven and debunked claims of election fraud and a blatant attempt to thwart the will of the people. He uses the government and the campaign process for personal gain to enrich himself and his family name. And half of the country is okay with this.

This is who you get as a representative of some of the people when we elected black man as President? This is who you choose? This is your rebuttal? This is your savior?

He’s a buffoon, a huckster, a malignant narcissist, a fraudster.

The greatest trick the devil pulled is convincing you he doesn’t exist.

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Isikoff did it again. He managed to get himself inserted INTO an unfolding story. I had the weird experience of reading the book while watching Fanny Willis testify in a trial aimed to disqualify her as the prosecutor.
Just like James Comey uttered: "Lordy, I hope there are tapes," based on what I read in the book and what I saw with my own two eyes during the Ms. Willis testimony - LORDY! I hope she stays on the case and I sure home there are cameras in the courtroom.
This case MIGHT actually cost Trump the election.
Is it a good book? Hell yah! If you like Michael Isikoff's writing (which I do).
Is it great literature? Nope. But it's a great read.