Craig Unger has written extensively on Donald Trump, publishing a best seller on the US property tycoon called “House of Trump, House of Putin”. He has recently released another blockbuster, titled “American Kompromat”, in which he investigates alleged links between Mr Trump and the Russian secret services. Mr Trump has always angrily denied any such allegations, telling journalists at a White House press conference in January 2019 that he “never worked for Russia” and to even pose the question was a “disgrace”.
In an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, Mr Unger argued that the former President was the instigator and ringleader of the shocking events, a charge which Mr Trump has vehemently denied.
The best selling author pointed to the almost exact correlation between Mr Trump’s tweets and the actions of the MAGA mob.
“When it came to Mike Pence, it’s quite extraordinary the timeline,” he said.
“If you see it, he basically said ‘Mike Pence betrayed us’ and two minutes later there are people saying ‘hang Mike Pence’.
“So it’s almost like a commander leading, when you see the events they showed.”
He added: “You pair up the timeline of Trump’s tweets, the angry crowd, the attack on the Capitol building- it’s like a Commander-in-Chief leading his troops against the United States Government.”
Mr Trump was acquitted of incitement to insurrection by the Senate at the end of the second impeachment trial in February.
Although senators voted 57-43 in favour of convicting Mr Trump, including seven Republicans, the numbers fell short of the two thirds majority required to secure a conviction.
A February poll commissioned by the US media channel ABC News showed 58 per cent of Americans believed the 45th US President should have been convicted.
However, the numbers break down along party lines. While 88 per cent of Democrats and 64 per cent of Independents say Mr Trump should have been found guilty, only 14 per cent of Republicans agreed.
The former US President made an appearance on Fox News Sunday last week, in which he sought to shift blame for the Capitol Hill riots of January 6 on to Congress leaders, including Nancy Pelosi.
He claimed that he had requested 10,000 National Guard troops to be deployed in Washington D.C for his rally, once it became apparent how many supporters would attend.
However, he said that his request was rejected because leaders in Congress didn’t like the optics of having so many troop at the Capitol.
“So, you know, that was a big mistake,” he said.