The “Russia collusion” conspiracy theory is back, this time in the form of a memoir by former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, who complains: “I cannot understand Putin’s hold on Trump.”

Once again, the facts are brushed aside: the fact that Putin did not invade anything while Donald Trump was president; the fact that U.S. forces killed hundreds of Russian mercenaries in Syria under Trump; the fact that Trump slapped sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia; and the fact that Trump held Russia in check while being outwardly polite.

McMaster, long seen as a favorite of the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and the anti-Trump establishment, is cashing in on the opportunity Trump gave him, writing a memoir timed for election season that revisits the debunked Russia collusion hoax.

In an excerpt published by the Wall Street Journal, McMaster writes about how he disobeyed Trump’s orders, ostensibly to prevent Putin from using Trump to his own advantage: