The Wolves of K Street

The Secret History of How Big Money Took Over Big Government

By: Brody Mullins, Luke Mullins

Narrated by: Jacques Roy

Length: 19 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Two veteran investigative journalists trace the rise of the modern lobbying industry through the three dynasties—one Republican, two Democratic—that have enabled corporate interests to infiltrate American politics and undermine our democracy.

On K Street, a few blocks from the White House, you’ll find the offices of the most powerful men in Washington. In the 1970s, the city’s center of gravity began to shift away from elected officials in big marble buildings to a handful of savvy, handsomely paid operators who didn’t answer to any fixed constituency.

The cigar-chomping son of a powerful Congressman, an illustrious political fixer with a weakness for modern art, a Watergate-era dirty trickster, the city’s favorite cocktail party host…these were the sorts of men who now ran Washington. Over four decades, they’d chart new ways to turn their clients’ cash into political leverage, abandoning favor-trading in smoke-filled rooms for increasingly sophisticated tactics like “shadow lobbying,” where underground campaigns sparked seemingly organic public outcries to pressure lawmakers into taking actions that would ultimately benefit corporate interests rather than the common good. With billions of dollars at play, these lobbying dynasties enshrined in Washington a pro-business consensus that would guide the country’s political leaders—Democrats and Republicans alike—allowing companies to flourish even as ordinary Americans buckled under the weight of stagnant wages, astronomical drug prices, unsafe home loans, and digital monopolies. A good lobbyist could kill even a piece of legislation supported by the president, both houses of Congress, and a majority of Americans.

Yet, nothing lasts forever. Amidst a populist backlash to the soaring inequality these lobbyists helped usher in, Washington’s pro-business alliance suddenly began to unravel. And while new ways for corporations to control the federal government would emerge, the men who’d once built K Street found themselves under legal scrutiny and on the verge of financial collapse. One had his namesake firm ripped away by his own colleagues. Another watched his business shut down altogether. One went to prison. And one was found dead behind the 18th green of an exclusive golf club, with a bottle of $1,500 wine at his feet and a bullet in his head.

A dazzling and infuriating portrait of fifty years of corporate influence in Washington, The Wolves of K Street is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction—irresistibly dramatic, spectacularly timely, explosive in its revelations, and absolutely impossible to put down.

©2024 Brody Mullins and Luke Mullins (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

“However nefarious you think the lobbying industry is in Washington, Brody and Luke Mullins have news: It’s worse. Not even during the Roaring Twenties and the Gilded Age did corporate American wield so much influence, fueling the rise of the populist right and the progressive left, of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. In their deeply reported, compelling new book, the Mullins brothers track how that happened, and the disastrous consequences.”—Susan Page, New York Times bestselling author of The Matriarch: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty

“This book begins with a mysterious dead body and ends with what deserves to be the death of the malevolent influence of Washington's K Street lobbying firms. But like cockroaches, lobbyists scurry away and multiply. A vivid, brilliantly told tale that unfolds like a novel, this is the most potent portrait of the Washington swamp you will read.”—Ken Auletta, New York Times bestselling author of Googled: The End of the World as We Know It

“This page-turner tells the sordid story about how, over the course of half a century, an ever-growing cohort of bipartisan political hustlers figured out that they could preside over the arranged marriage of corporate money and American politics... for a hefty commission. The Mullins brothers promise to untangle the intricate—and ultimately, pathetic—story of the selling of the American republic, and they have succeeded brilliantly.”—Duff McDonald, author of Last Man Standing: The Ascent of Jamie Dimon and JPMorgan Chase and Tickled: A Commonsense Guide to the Present Moment

The interconnectedness of corruption in & around DC.

A must read! This book details the frightening level of influence on policy by a select & surprisingly few individuals. It details how these individuals not only shaped policy but have even influenced, to a large degree, how many/most Americans see our country. And the authors bring receipts. At 60 years old, I had considered myself politically astute. After listening to this book, I realize I’ve been naive & blind to how our country works. And, let me qualify that by saying, in the past, I have worked on the fringes of corporate advocacy so I, more than the average person, have “been in the room” (albeit, VERY low level). This is one of those books that opens your eyes & changes how you see the world. But, like Socrates’ “Allegory of the Cave”, be careful what you wish for. It’s often painful to stare directly into the light.

True Story

The level of research seems very good to tell a story most people saw but never realized.

It is depressing.

Nothing to say. Nothing to smile about. Nothing about it to recommend to friends. Just depressing.

Neither "right" nor "left" orientation

I was relieved that the authors took a neutral stance on the subject matter - a rarity these days. I'd gone "down the bunny hole" about myriad topics during the past 20 yrs, but didn't know much about the influence peddling "business" except for bits and pieces, and, of course, knowing that it is a completely corrupt "enterprise" that should be illegal.

Starting with the Reagan era and ending with recent years, the Mullins' take us through the corruption of both sides of the aisle in a way that is both detailed and enjoyable. I had taken a deep dive into most of the Presidencies of my lifetime, including Reagan, Clinton, etc., but found many unknown nuggets in this book.

Highly recommended!

the sad end to many that lived only for moneyi like

I like how they put the story together of real persons and weaved them into a moral tale