David Sirota / Jared Jacang Maher
For decades, a shadowy network of corporate elites, political operatives, and Supreme Court justices has worked behind the scenes to dismantle campaign finance laws and rig the system in favor of the ultra-wealthy. Master Plan uncovers the hidden history of how unrestrained money and influence have transformed the United States into a full-fledged kleptocracy - where policy is bought, elections are manipulated, and corruption operates in plain sight.Based on the award-winning investigative podcast from The Lever, journalist David Sirota and producer Jared Jacang Maher trace this blueprint back to a little-known memo written by future Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell. With newly unearthed documents and gripping storytelling, they reveal how this manifesto became a roadmap for dismantling democracy - one that corporate leaders implemented at secret meetings in places like Disney World, that inspired wealthy anti-government radicals like Joseph Coors to fund the Heritage Foundation, and that paved the way for operatives like Roger Ailes to build Fox News. From Nixon’s Watergate cover-up to the Citizens United ruling and today’s dark-money super PACs, Master Plan exposes the calculated efforts to use wealth to control political leaders and legalize corruption at every level of government.With the 2024 election marking the most expensive in U.S. history, the Supreme Court enabling corruption, and billionaires openly seizing government functions, this book arrives at a crucial moment. It comes as Project 2025 and a second Trump presidency move to enact the final phase of this 50-year plan.With expanded reporting and exclusive materials not included in the podcast, Master Plan is the definitive history of how America’s democracy was hijacked-and what can still be done to reclaim it.
