Book Synopsis

From two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post national security reporter Greg Miller, the truth about Vladimir Putin's covert attempt to destroy Hillary Clinton and help Donald Trump win the presidency, its possible connections to the Trump campaign, Robert Mueller's ensuing investigation of the president and those close to him, and the mystery of Trump's steadfast allegiance to Putin.

It has been called the political crime of the century: a foreign government, led by a brutal authoritarian leader, secretly interfering with the American presidential election to help elect the candidate of its choice. Now two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post national security reporter Greg Miller investigates the truth about the Kremlin's covert attempt to destroy Hillary Clinton and help Donald Trump win the presidency, Trump's steadfast allegiance to Vladimir Putin, and Robert Mueller's ensuing investigation of the president and those close to him.

Based on interviews with hundreds of people in Trump's inner circle, current and former government officials, individuals with close ties to the White House, members of the law enforcement and intelligence communities, foreign officials, and confidential documents, The Apprentice offers striking new information about:

• the hacking of the Democrats by Russian intelligence;
• Russian hijacking of Facebook and Twitter;
• National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's hidden communications with the Russians;
• the attempt by Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, to create a secret back channel to Moscow using Russian diplomatic facilities;
• Trump's disclosure to Russian officials of highly classified information about Israeli intelligence operations;
• Trump's battles with the CIA and the FBI and fierce clashes within the West Wing;
• Trump's efforts to enlist the director of national intelligence and the director of the National Security Agency to push back against the FBI's investigation of his campaign;
• the mysterious Trump Tower meeting;
• the firing of FBI Director James Comey;
• the appointment of Mueller and the investigation that has followed;
• the tumultuous skirmishing within Trump's legal camp;
• and Trump's jaw-dropping behavior in Helsinki.

Deeply reported and masterfully told, The Apprentice is essential reading for anyone trying to understand Vladimir Putin's secret operation, its catastrophic impact, and the nature of betrayal.

From the Back Cover

It has been called the political crime of the century: a foreign government, led by a brutal authoritarian leader, secretly interfering with the American presidential election to help elect the candidate of its choice. Now two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post national security reporter Greg Miller investigates the truth about the Kremlin's covert attempt to destroy Hillary Clinton and help Donald Trump win the presidency, Trump's steadfast allegiance to Vladimir Putin, and Robert Mueller's ensuing investigation.

Based on interviews with hundreds of people in Trump's inner circle, current and former government officials, individuals with close ties to the White House, members of the law enforcement and intelligence communities, and foreign officials, as well as confidential documents, The Apprentice offers striking new information about what happened behind the scenes and in the shadows--and why while Trump may have ended up in the Oval Office, the real victor was Putin.

Review Quotes

"We cannot understand what happened in the 2016 election, Russia-gate or the imploding Trump presidency by reading the 24-hour digital news on our phones....Fortunately, we still have a simple technology invented nearly six centuries ago: books. Greg Miller has written a damn good one." - Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian
"Lucid and startling...a scathing portrait of the commander-in-chief's personal and political failings, compounded by the dismal inability of other politicians and institutions to get to grips with the abundant evidence of Russian meddling....The book is the clearest account yet of what Russia actually did." - Times (UK)
"A vital contribution to our understanding of how we got here." - Charles Kaiser, The Guardian
"Painstakingly researched...an exhaustive and authoritative case." - Salon
"Miller puts it all together." - Kai Bird, Washington Post