The Steal: Four Right-Wing Hard-Liners, One Republican Presidency, and the Raid on America's Courts

From celebrated news anchor, journalist, and host of Crooked Media's "Runaway Country," Alex Wagner, the wild and true story of how a group of right-wing raiders changed the American judiciary forever.

The election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 was a sharp right turn for American governance. After decades on the fringes, the conservative right had risen to power, finally poised to fashion some of the country's most pressing issues in its image. Tax cuts, aggressive foreign policy, and law and order would soon become the cornerstones of Reagan's agenda. But, behind the scenes, a select group of administration officials and ideological allies had their eyes set on something much more valuable: an institution with the power to shape the country's legal, cultural and existential identity, long after any presidential term ended.

Ed Meese, a native Californian, former DA, and aide to Reagan from his days as governor, knew exactly what he had to do to seize the Supreme Court: get as many judges on the bench as possible, and make sure they were as conservative as he was on issues like abortion rights, taxes, and criminal justice. Working in parallel to achieve the same goal were a band of fellow true-believers: Paul Weyrich, the firebrand organizer; Joe Coors, the beer magnate whose fortune funded many of Weyrich's efforts; and Robert Bork, the towering legal intellect of the right, and an important mentor to a few young law students starting a new organization called The Federalist Society. By the end of the decade, these men would change the face of the American judiciary forever. Told with a pitch-perfect blend of journalistic rigor and propulsive storytelling, The Steal takes readers into the closed-door meetings, public nomination hearings, and back rooms of American political power to reveal the true story behind one of the most significant moments in American history, and how it affects us to this day.

Author: Alex Wagner
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Published: 09/15/2026
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.14lbs
Size: 9.51h x 6.48w x 1.12d
ISBN: 9781250901637


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 07/01/2026 pg. 70
Publishers Weekly 07/27/2026
Kirkus Reviews 08/15/2026

About the Author
Alex Wagner is the host of the podcast Runaway Country, a contributor to Pod Save America (both on Crooked Media), a Senior Political Analyst at MS NOW, and the author of "How the Hell... with Alex Wagner" on Substack. She was previously a Contributing Editor at The Atlantic, an Executive Producer and Co-host of "The Circus" on Showtime, and a special correspondent with CBS News. Her critically acclaimed memoir, Futureface, was published in 2018.