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Nevertheless, “Silent Coup” reached No. 3 on the Times bestseller list after it was published, and has developed something of a cult following over the years.

The term “silent coup” caught on and has been invoked on the right repeatedly in extreme accusations against Barack Obama. Among the term’s fans is a fiery conservative radio host named Mark Levin, who used it in a July 2015 radio show, arguing Obama had imposed “martial law” on the country through his immigration, health care and law enforcement policies.

“His government doesn’t have the authority to do any of these things, but he does it,” Levin said. “We’ve had a silent coup in this country.”

On Thursday, Levin returned to the “silent coup” theme during his evening show, arguing that the Obama administration had orchestrated a “silent coup” against President Donald Trump.

The Obama Justice Department, he claimed with no supporting evidence, had spied on the Trump campaign, with the use of wiretapping, when it investigated Russian interference in the election, and had leaked information to the press to undermine the new president.

Levin’s claims were picked up in the website Breitbart, which reported Levin saying that Obama’s “police state” actions, rather than conspiracy theories about alleged Russian interference in the presidential election to help Trump, should be the target of congressional investigation.

By Saturday morning, President Trump was on Twitter accusing Obama, without evidence, of a “Nixon/Watergate” plot to tap the phones at Trump Tower. (Obama has denied the allegation, and James R. Clapper Jr., the former director of national intelligence, said there was no wiretapping of Trump.)