Corruption in the government
With a little corruption, entire industries could manage to behave in unethical ways that lead to monopoly, destruction of the environment, or in the major case of this book, acts of war. If the Russian economy were responsible for tampering with an election, then sanctions might be in order, and if it were the Russian government itself, then it might be considered an act of aggression against the United States. If Donald Trump were involved in tampering with the 2016 elections, that would be treason. These are all incredibly difficult facts to discover, so Maddow's task in this book is one of serious difficulty.
Environmental concerns and deception
In addition to the more socio-economic and political aspect of the book, there is also an entire repertoire of facts and knowledge concerning modern climate concerns due to the oil and gas industry. Importantly, there were progressive interests which opposed that industry around 2016 (and still do) for whom Donald Trump's pro-industry, come-what-may stance constitutes a kind of heresy. Maddow examines what the cost on the environment might be while also calling the honesty of that industry into question.
The difficulty of truth
Rachel Maddow's mind can be described as obsessive and well-trained. She comes to conclusions at a pace which is staggering. Then, by communicating in exact, specific language, she carefully iterates what she has learned, while avoiding the various pitfalls of bad journalism. This is probably why the most intense conclusions which could be drawn from the facts are in fact not forcefully asserted. The deliberate patience of her quest for truth is itself a thematic commentary on her knowledge of truth to be something delicate and complicated and difficult to discover.
