Author of six books on GOP war on democracy, including three NYT bestsellers. My latest: Den of Spies, on the 1980 October Surprise.

Shelter Island, New York
Joined December 2008
1/ Last month I told a room of Baltic intelligence officers and diplomats that Donald Trump is an asset of Russian intelligence. Not one of them blinked. "Of course," they said. Ho hum. But in America, saying it out loud is still taboo. Why? 🧵
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Craig Unger retweeted
It’s a fair question and a total puzzle, but I think it’s related to why your books have not been referred to and regarded as foundational as they should have been for years. It seems an uncomfortable truth that our worst truths stay opaque to us.
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Craig Unger retweeted
🚨 BREAKING: Lula is projected to WIN reelection as president of Brazil, defeating Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro and an ally of Donald Trump. The projection comes just ONE DAY after Reuters exposed a Trump administration effort to help return the Bolsonaro family to power. A major political upset in Brazil.
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Excellent post. He’s talking to you, Elon.
Anthony Davis on why some Trump supporters refuse to abandon him, even as his approval rating falls to record lows. “Admitting that a long-held political stance was mistaken requires accepting that years of defense, personal friction, and social conflict were based on a flawed premise.”
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Wow. 28K views and counting!Maybe he’s trying to prove me wrong.
I'd appreciate it if @elonmusk stopped shadowbanning everyone he disagrees with. I earned a blue check under Twitter and got more than 50K followers. Since Musk took over, I've paid his monthly feel but I've gained virtually no followers and Musk's algorithms ensure that I get almost no traffic.
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Well, perhaps stupidly, I DO pay for it. And he treats me no better.
If you think that's bad, Craig, try posting without a Blue Check. I won't pay for one, and the algorithm treats me accordingly. The organic growth of my account - I have never solicited a like or a follow - stalled almost completely. No access to analytics now, of course.
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I appreciate it!
I'm reading your book on Trump and Putin, and listening to "Den of Spies". Thank you for your incredible work.
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Thanks!
I just got your book and am looking forward to cracking into it
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Undoubtedly. I’m hearing people calling for SpaceX/Starshield to be nationalized and for him to be treated as a war criminal. He’s probably hearing it louder than me.
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Craig Unger retweeted
Interesting that they leave Mar a Lago untouched.....
FT Exclusive: A Russian online sabotage network was behind a series of arson attacks on Sir Keir Starmer’s family home and other targets linked to the UK prime minister, an FT investigation has found. ft.trib.al/ytkpQUp
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I should add that he says it's fine for Iran to missiles but at the same time, he is prohibiting Ukraine from having Patriot missiles. Astonishing: Trump acts as if Russia, Iran and North Korea are our allies, but he wants to overthrow Zelensky.
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Craig Unger retweeted
Applebaum: If Russia wins the war, European defense spending would have to triple or quadruple, because the threat would be much greater. Europe must give Ukraine defenses and offensive weapons to hit enough Russian targets that Moscow concludes it cannot win. 1/
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This would seem a great story. But puzzling anyone would take the word of Putin's close Stasi buddy on Putin's claimed willingness to withdraw from regions he just annexed over the view of US government, & give such weight to Putin's nuclear sabre-rattling ft.com/content/dcb57f30-bbfe…
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A case in point: I have more than 50K followers, but two hours after posting the post below has 18 views!
I'd appreciate it if @elonmusk stopped shadowbanning everyone he disagrees with. I earned a blue check under Twitter and got more than 50K followers. Since Musk took over, I've paid his monthly feel but I've gained virtually no followers and Musk's algorithms ensure that I get almost no traffic.
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I'd appreciate it if @elonmusk stopped shadowbanning everyone he disagrees with. I earned a blue check under Twitter and got more than 50K followers. Since Musk took over, I've paid his monthly feel but I've gained virtually no followers and Musk's algorithms ensure that I get almost no traffic.
Replying to @IAPonomarenko
@IAPonomarenko I've written two books about Trump and Russia(House of Trump, House of Putin and American Kompromat) and it goes back to 1980 when Russia first began to cultivate him. They own him. He was a stupendously bad businessman and they bailed him out again and again--over decades.
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He's rejiggered the algorithms to do this.
I think he’s doing it on a fairly widespread basis now because, like #trump, he’s like a caged rat under siege.
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I’m shadow banned as well. Under Twitter, pre-Musk, I often got hundreds of thousands of views for a tweet. Under Musk I rarely get more than a few hundred. Musk says he’s all for free speech but he silences you if you’re not in bed with Trump Putin. @ShaunPinnerUA @WalshFreedom
Well this is bullshit. You all need to follow @ShaunPinnerUA on all things Ukraine.👇
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IHere's what Pres.Trump has done for Vladimir Putin since 2017: 🇺🇸➡️🇷🇺 First term 1Stood next to Putin in Helsinki and took his word over U.S. intelligence 2Lobbied to bring Russia back into the G7 3Withheld military aid from Ukraine to squeeze Zelensky (impeachment #1) 4Pulled out of Syria, handing Russia a freer hand 5Openly questioned NATO's mutual-defense pledge 6Lifted sanctions on Deripaska-linked companies, including Rusal 7Walked away from the INF nuclear treaty 8Walked away from the Open Skies treaty, leaving our European allies with less visibility 🇺🇸➡️🇷🇺 Second term
9. Called Russia's G7 expulsion a "mistake"
10. Declared Moscow "holds all the cards"
11. Opened talks with Russia with zero preconditions
12. Berated Zelensky in the Oval Office, then paused aid and intel to Ukraine
13. Halted offensive cyber operations against Russia
14. Had the U.S. vote WITH Russia against a UN resolution condemning the invasion
15. Said "Crimea will stay with Russia"
16. Rolled out the red carpet for Putin in Alaska
17. Pressed Ukraine, not Russia, to give up territory 18. Starshield 19. Diesel 20. Revoke Graham sanctions That's not "America First." You could never make that list of things a President has done for Zelensky, or for NATO. Ask yourself why.
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I will be speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his team this week to discuss Starshield, sanctions, and other matters pertaining to the defense of our strong ally, Ukraine. I will be assuring President Zelenskyy that anyone who attempts to limit the use of Starshield for Ukraine will be fully investigated and will be held fully accountable, to include public congressional oversight hearings, and immediate harsh and punitive budget cuts to any responsible agency or agency head. Congress will unequivocally reaffirm that Ukraine is an indispensable ally to the United States, that Russia is a self-declared enemy of the United States, and that the United States will 100% support and defend the people of Ukraine in their fight for their own freedom against this brutal, illegal, and unprovoked Russian invasion. The United States must provide any and all defensive equipment that Ukraine needs to defend itself. The United States must not import a single drop of Russian oil. Sanctions against the Russian regime must be harsher and stronger than they’ve ever been before. Each and every one of these items will be brought to the House Floor—and each and every one of these items will pass on the House Floor by an overwhelming margin. This is, after all, what Ronald Reagan would do. And this is what we will do now. Ukraine can, and will, defeat Russia. #PeaceThroughStrength
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Craig Unger retweeted
Replying to @elonmusk
@elonmusk Elon, I want to tell you something as a Ukrainian. For years, many people in Ukraine admired and respected you. I was one of them. I personally saw you as a technological genius, a visionary, someone who was building the future while others were still living in the past. And that is exactly why your growing hostility toward Ukraine is so difficult for me to understand. Ukraine is not a perfect country. We have corruption, political failures, and many problems. Nobody denies that. But tell me, which country is perfect? Ukraine is also a country of incredibly talented engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs, developers, artists, and ordinary hardworking people. We build world-class technology, innovate under impossible conditions, value education, and have repeatedly shown the world what courage, resilience, and human dignity look like. We are a country that voluntarily gave up the world's third-largest nuclear arsenal in exchange for security assurances. We are a nation that stood up in 2014, during the Revolution of Dignity, because we refused to live under authoritarianism and Russian domination. We wanted freedom, democracy, and the right to choose our own future. And today, we are fighting for that same freedom. Every day, Ukrainian civilians are killed by Russian missiles, drones, and bombs. Children lose their parents. Parents bury their children. Entire cities are destroyed. Millions of lives have been shattered. These people are not dying because of Zelenskyy. They are not dying because of Ukrainian corruption. They are dying because Putin chose to invade another sovereign nation and continues to wage a war against its people, cities, culture, and identity. Yes, corruption must be fought. Yes, every dollar of international aid must be accounted for. Ukrainians themselves deserve transparency and justice more than anyone. But corruption does not justify invasion. Political failures do not justify bombing children. And no amount of criticism of Ukraine changes who crossed the border with an invading army. You seem to believe that giving up Donbas and Luhansk could bring peace. But why should we believe Putin would stop there? He already violated Ukraine's sovereignty after promising to respect it. He took Crimea in 2014. He fueled war in Donbas. And in 2022, he launched a full-scale invasion. What makes you think another territorial concession would finally satisfy him? History has shown us what happens when democracies believe they can secure lasting peace by rewarding an aggressor with someone else's land. We have seen this before, in Europe, in the years leading up to World War II. Peace built on surrender to a dictator is not necessarily peace. Sometimes it is simply an invitation to the next war. Elon, you are a man who talks about the future of humanity, about making civilization better, about taking humanity to Mars. But what kind of future are we building if we accept that powerful dictators can erase smaller nations simply because they have more weapons? Ukraine is not asking the world to pretend we are perfect. We are asking the world to recognize that we have the same right to exist, to be free, and to determine our future as Americans do. And one more thing: Ukrainians have never been your enemies. Many of us admired you, believed in your vision, and appreciated what Starlink made possible during the darkest days of this war. That is why your words hurt more than you might realize. You have enormous influence. Your voice can shape how millions of people understand this war. I still want to believe that the man who dreams of advancing humanity can recognize the humanity of people fighting simply to survive. It is not too late to stand on the right side of history. Not on Zelenskyy's side. Not on any politician's side. On the side of freedom. On the side of human life. On the side of a nation's right to exist. That is all we are asking for. 🇺🇦
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If Putin stops fighting, the war ends. If Zelensky stops fighting then his country will be occupied, leaders murdered, language banned, businesses stolen, children kidnapped. That's what happens in Russian-occupied Ukraine.
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