zelensky

belated prolly neglected

merri ok

see putin 3 disinfo alt rt troll caucus

see ukraine

see ukraine war 4

target?

===

Slava Ukraini!

us visit biden medal

===

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PRES Z SAYS IF PUTIN AND TRUMP GANG UP, HE CANNOT WIN 10/22/26

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an 10 26

On Thursday, the Trump administration’s attempt to dodge blame for the disruption of Ukraine’s Starlink capabilities appeared to blow up. What’s more, the call came from inside the house, as it was Vice President JD Vance who accidentally exposed the whole thing. While President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other officials have attempted to direct responsibility for the throttling of Ukraine’s Starshield speeds at the company rather than the government, Starlink CEO Elon Musk has pushed back, asserting that the military branch of the system is operated by the Pentagon. When asked about this by Fox News, Vance appeared to back up Musk’s account.

“Fundamentally, Elon Musk runs a private corporation, and I think it's completely understandable that he doesn't want to get in the middle of what is a war between two state actors without the United States government effectively directing him on what to do,” said Vance. “So I don't think this is about Elon. I think it's fundamentally, what is America's policy in Ukraine to Russia going to be?" And as Reuters National Security Correspondent Erin Banco emphasizes, “As Vance notes here, Starshield is a contract held between DOD and SpaceX. Contractually, SpaceX can't do anything without decision from USG.”

In other words, if Vance is right, then the Trump administration has actively degraded a U.S. ally’s military capacity while aiding one of the United States’ greatest adversaries. As many commentators have suggested, Trump has increasingly aligned with Russia through both word and action. Critics have argued that Trump's order dropping sanctions to buy Russian diesel not only breaks U.S. law, but hands President Vladimir Putin a financial lifeline while doing little to ease skyrocketing diesel prices.

Trump has blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the ongoing war — which was launched by Russia — while his special envoy has drawn bipartisan outrage for calling Putin a “humanitarian.” Meanwhile, Putin has floated the idea that Russia, the U.S., and China hold a summit to discuss the war — without Ukraine’s participation — a move Fox News says would be a “serious mistake.” According to Fox national security analyst Rebeccah Heinrichs, “The Russians view the United States as its number one adversary, and they're trying to get the United States to back down and not support Zelensky.”

A growing number of lawmakers are calling for investigations into the Starlink matter, while seven Republican senators have signed a letter telling Musk to remove Ukraine’s restrictions. Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman has declared the sabotage of Ukraine an act of “treason,” suggesting it warrants the seizure of Starlink.

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10 26

Overnight, Starlink was blocked in Ukraine, which led to people being killed. Ukraine’s President Zelensky appeared on Piers Morgan and said he felt betrayed by President Trump, who announced an energy ceasefire and diesel deal with Putin, and Musk, whose company manages Starlink

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Trump's own spy chief just secretly delivered a warning to Putin :report

AN 10 26

Trump's CIA director traveled to Moscow to assess the Russia-Ukraine war, and his verdict came with a warning to Vladimir Putin.

Trump sent the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, in August to meet Russian security officials, The Atlantic reported Friday, citing sources familiar with the talks.

Ratcliffe presented his conclusion that neither side is winning the war, noting that Russian forces had failed to make any meaningful gains, but Ukraine had also failed at pushing them out of occupied territory.

American and Russian spies communicated through an intelligence back channel, called "the channel," to speak privately.

While Ratcliffe did not meet Putin personally, his intelligence chiefs documented his message for the Russian president.

U.S. officials believe that Putin is being misled by his advisers, and they hope the information would get him to negotiate with Ukraine to end the war.

Ratcliffe later spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about the Moscow visit while they refueled their planes in Ireland in September, according to the report.

This comes as Trump’s public statements seem to contradict his own spy chief's conclusion about the conflict.

Trump, who has never had a good relationship with the Ukrainian president, recently became a more vocal critic, accusing him of refusing to make a peace deal and saying he is "more difficult to deal with than Putin."

Trump also attacked Ukraine's renewed strikes on Russian oil refineries, calling them "a disgrace" and blaming them for the rising cost of fuel globally, while most experts believe the Iran war is mostly responsible for the price hike.

Trump also insisted that Ukraine could choose other targets in direct contradiction to Zelensky’s repeated warnings that Russia is using their fuel to attack Ukraine.

The International Energy Agency report suggests Ukraine has been successful in its campaign. Per the report, Russian refinery throughput fell to its lowest level in more than 20 years in June, roughly 30% below the previous year.

Its analysis also found that Ukrainian strikes hit a Russian refinery about once every three days during the first eight months of 2026. Russian gasoline production fell by 20% and diesel production had fallen by about 30%, which led to export restrictions to preserve supply.

Meanwhile, The Atlantic reported that the CIA gives Ukraine intelligence to help them identify and hit russian energy targets. A Baltic intelligence officer said the operations are "much more aggressive" than under Biden.

After Trump criticized Zelensky, Ukraine's defenses faced restrictions on Starlink satellite services, which disrupted its ability to operate defensive drones.

Zelensky has repeatedly said Ukraine is willing to end the war, but Russia has no plans to stop.

Ratcliffe's Moscow mission seemingly contradicts Trump’s statements about Ukraine and Russia, as his relationship with Putin sparks anger across both sides of the political aisle.

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AN 3 26

President Donald Trump reportedly spoke with Russia about whether they are helping Iran and told other officials that he holds them at their word that they aren't involved. Now, it turns out, there is evidence to the contrary.

Speaking to CNBC about the matter on Tuesday, Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, claimed that Russia was being honest with the U.S.

"That's what they said. So, you know, we can take them at their word. But they did say that," Witkoff claimed. "Let’s hope they’re not sharing."

It prompted a question at the White House press briefing on Tuesday when one reporter asked, "The Kremlin put out a statement, a statement where Putin said, 'I would like to reaffirm our unwavering support for Tehran and our solidarity with Iranian friends.' How does the president think that Russia could be helpful if not helping Iran? And did the president push Putin on Russia sharing intelligence with Iran in this war?"

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt softened that emphatic claim by Trump and Witkoff, telling the press, "Both said that they've sent a message to Russia that if that was taking place, it's not something they would be happy with and they hope that it is not taking place."

CNN reported Wednesday morning that Russia has specifically been working with Iran on "advanced drone tactics," a problem that the Defense Department confessed was causing them headaches.

“There are not great defenses available to the U.S. military to defend against the Shahed,” a congressional official told The Atlantic last week after a Capitol Hill briefing with senior Trump administration members.

“So they have to use the defensives they have, which are costly,” the congressional official said. “We have known this for a long time. We don’t have, at scale, good defenses against drones.”

CNN confirmed that Russia is helping Iran with those drone tactics, after facing off against the assault themselves from Ukraine, Western intelligence said.

"Shahed drones, designed by Iran but mass-produced by Moscow for use in Ukraine, have been unexpectedly successful in penetrating the air defenses of Gulf nations," the report explained. "Russian intelligence sharing with Iran has until now been reported as general assistance with targeting, but specific tactical advice is a new level of support."

“What was more general support is now getting more concerning, including UAS [drone] targeting strategies that Russia employed in Ukraine,” the official told CNN.

The individual wouldn't provide specifics about the tactical help.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X, “Russia has started supporting the Iranian regime with drones. It will definitely help with missiles, and it is also helping them with air defense."

He has his own drone interception experts and has agreed to send them to aid the U.S. They have a small, easily-produced $5,000 device that can stop the cheap Russian drones.

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AN 2 26

The global diplomatic goals of the U.S. used to be handled by a vast corps of skilled professionals, but under Trump, virtually all overseas goals are in the hands of one "witless" envoy, as James Ball wrote for The i Paper, possibly because he has a background "almost identical" to the president's.

Ball broke down Steve Witkoff's unlikely and alarming ascent in a scathing analysis from Wednesday. Initially chosen to oversee an Israeli ceasefire deal in Gaza, he was later upgraded to overseeing all missions in the Middle East, including brokering a deal to defuse tensions with Iran.

Now, he is also handling talks to end the years-long war between Russia and Ukraine. This high-stakes job has seen him make many alarming breaks from standard diplomatic procedures, such as meeting solo with Russian President Vladimir Putin and insisting that he trusts the Kremlin's English interpreters. These decisions overwhelmingly give Russia an upper hand, something Witkoff might not mind, Ball noted, as he has previously praised Putin and said that he does not "regard him as a bad guy."

"Is he amoral, or just incompetent?" Ball asked. "Usually, sensitive diplomatic negotiations are left to people with huge experience of the areas in which they operate. Typically, the lead negotiator has lived and worked in the region for decades, speaks the relevant languages, and has relationships with key power brokers in the various factions involved. They know the history, the resentments, the red lines. The hope is they can leverage that into the patient drudgework of diplomacy, dragging often reluctant parties over the line to a deal none of them will love, but that they can all live with."

Witkoff cannot meet that standard for all the missions he has been tasked with, Ball argued, because "No one on the planet has intimate experience of Israel, Gaza, Iran, Russia and Ukraine." That matter is made by the fact that the billionaire has had no diplomatic experience at all prior to his appointment as Trump's "Special Envoy for Peace Missions." The president, Ball suggested, seemed to pick him because of their strikingly similar professional backgrounds.

"His background is almost identical to Trump’s – Witkoff is a billionaire who made his money through real estate deals," Ball explained. "His portfolio is even more U.S.-focused than the President’s, and the handful of major deals his company closed outside the U.S. were in London. Witkoff knows the world of US real estate, and little else."

With "the witless Witkoff" now handling the Russia-Ukraine peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, Ball wrote that Trump has made him all of Europe's problem, with no regard for the consequences of his failure.

"It is Ukrainians first, and then Europeans, who will pay with their lives if Witkoff screws up," Ball wrote. "Americans will sit a continent away and pretend it’s not their problem if it blows up in their faces."

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lara logan wiki

Russian invasion of Ukraine

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Logan in her television appearances linked Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to "satanic, occult" practices, called him a "puppet" and claimed that he had been "selected [...], not voted in". She praised Russian president Vladimir Putin for "not going to stand by while the globalists take over the world" and accused Ukrainians of being "actual Nazis". Logan's comments were praised and taken up by Russian government propaganda.^{[54][55][56][57}]

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HE’;S BAAAAACK! AN 11 25

The peace plan that President Donald Trump's administration offered to end the ongoing war in Ukraine has been widely criticized for being overly accommodating to Russia. Now, a new report shows that Russia may have been even more intricately involved in its composition than previously known.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the proposal — which Trump administration special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner (who is also the president's son-in-law) — relied heavily on input from a "Kremlin insider." Kushner, Witkoff and the Kremlin advisor huddled behind closed doors in multiple "secret meetings" in Miami, Florida, according to the Journal.

That Kremlin advisor was identified as Kirill Dmitriev, who the Journal described as an envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin who also has ties to Kushner. Witkoff also met Dmitriev during his April trip to Moscow. The 28-point plan has been described as a "framework" to end the war, though multiple senators allege Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio described it as "essentially the wish list of the Russians." (Rubio has denied making that comment)

The three men reportedly met for three days in late October at Witkoff's home in Miami, where Dmitriev communicated multiple items the Kremlin demanded in order to agree to end hostilities with Ukraine. The Journal reported that Dmitriev called for Ukraine to never be allowed to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), pull all troops out of the eastern Donbass region and other territory Russia wanted to control (like the Crimean Peninsula, which it illegally invaded in 2014). The Kremlin also wants Ukraine's military to be capped at a much lower number than its current 900,000-member force.

Dmitriev also specifically called on the Trump administration to engage in multiple economic agreements in the areas of artificial intelligence, energy and other industries. The Journal also reported that the bulk of the plan was written by both Kushner and Witkoff before they even engaged with Russia or Ukraine.

When Witkoff and Kushner attempted to engage senior Ukrainian officials to get their input on the peace plan, one told the two Trump administration envoys that the deal was better for Russia than for Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the two men for working toward ending the war, but also said their plan needed revisions.

Trump administration officials maintain that the final version of the plan will be more accommodating to Ukraine, and suggested amending it to raise the cap on the size of the Ukrainian military beyond what Russia wanted, and that language permanently barring Ukraine's membership in NATO could be removed.

Click here to read the Journal's report in full (subscription required).

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AN 10 25

CONTEXT

A weekend call between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy devolved into a "shouting match," and Russian state media pundits are now declaring it the result of Russian President Vladimir Putin's influence over Trump.

Mediaite reported Monday on a recent segment by CNN's Erin Burnett, in which she highlighted comments by Russian media bragging about Trump being captive to Putin. Burnett said Trump's "complete 180" on supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia prompted Russian propagandists to refer to the U.S. president as "Putin's puppet."

Burnett then played a clip captured by Daily Beast columnist Julia Davis, who runs the Russian Media Monitor account. Davis reported that on the show "Sunday Evening with Vladimir Solovyov," Trump is simply playing Putin's game when it comes to Ukraine.

"Putin understands Trump all too well. Trump doesn’t understand Putin," the guest said. "Putin can manipulate him very well and lead Trump by his nose."

During the call with Zelenskyy, Trump didn't commit to sending Ukraine long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles despite earlier suggestions that he may do so. Davis wrote Monday that one Russian media host said that Trump was simply teasing Zelenskyy with the potential for Tomahawks "like dangling a carrot in front of a donkey." He further opined that in the coming summit in Budapest, Hungary between Trump and Putin, if Zelenskyy ends up attending it will be "solely to sign his capitulation."

IFrame Content

As CNBC reported, the source of the tension on the call between Trump and Zelenskyy came from Trump insisting that the Ukrainian leader accept Putin's conquest of Ukraine's Donbas territory in the east for the sake of ceasing hostilities. The initial 2022 invasion was over the Donbas territory, and came eight years after Russia illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.

“It’s cut up right now, I think 78 percent of the land is already taken by Russia," Trump said on Sunday. "They should stop right now at the battle lines. ... Go home, stop killing people and be done."

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OMG

an 10 25

ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl said MAGA firebrand Steve Bannon was communicating with President Donald Trump even as he sat in jail for contempt of Congress.

In his new book "Retribution," Karl reports Bannon managed to discreetly keep in touch with Trump and his camp during his 2024 prison stay through a "coded" system that allowed his daughter and top aide to pass along messages to Trump through the monitored email system he was allowed in prison.

"Bannon claims that an investigative officer at Danbury — an official he described as 'pure MAGA' — had warned him that his communications were being reviewed by 'Main Justice,' otherwise known as the Biden administration,” Karl wrote, according to ABC News.

"So he developed a coded system to let 'the girls' know which messages were to be passed on to Trump or to those around him, in particular the aide Boris Epshteyn: 'I had just a system to get to Boris, kind of in quasi-code, through [daughter Maureen] into [aide Grace Chong],' he said. Was there literally a code word? 'Well, we had — ' he began, before catching himself. 'I don’t — the Bureau of Prisons could go back through it. We had a way that they could get to him,'" Karl writes.

Karl reports Bannon remained an influence on Trump’s presidency after he was released from prison, and he was likely a source of Trump’s hostility toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a controversial meeting earlier this year.

IFrame Content

“In his book, Karl reported on a meeting of Trump's national security team shortly before Zelenskyy's visit to Washington in February where Trump stopped the meeting and asked then-national security adviser Michael Waltz to ‘get Steve Bannon’ on the phone,” ABC reports.

"Hey, Steve, I’ve got the boys here," Trump said. "I’m going to put you on speaker."

“Trump, keeping Bannon on speakerphone for half an hour, had the MAGA firebrand make his case to the national security team against the deal, and Zelenskyy, who he referred to as ‘that punk,’" according to ABC News.

“I f—— hate it," Bannon said, arguing that the deal "ties us to Ukraine."

"If that punk comes here, he’s going to want a security guarantee,” Bannon said of Zelenskyy to Trump and his top advisers. He told the group they "can’t trust Zelenskyy" or "any of the Europeans."

Karl claims in his book that the previously unreported conversation set the tone for Trump’s combative meeting in the Oval Office with Zelenskyy, which crumbled into a shouting match in front of reporters and international viewers.

“You’re not acting at all thankful,” Trump said to the Ukrainian leader, in contradiction of Zelenskyy thanking the U.S. profusely for weaponry and aid to defend itself against its Russian aggressor. Trump also accused Zelenskyy of “gambling with World War III,” despite Russia invading Ukraine in 2022.

Read the ABC News report at this link.

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OMFG SEE BIZARRO

AN 2 25

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was shut out of the discussions concerning the future of his country, which took place in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18, 2025. In fact, there were no Ukrainian representatives, nor any European Union ones – just U.S. and Russian delegations, and their Saudi hosts.

The meeting – which followed a mutually complimentary phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin just days earlier – was gleefully celebrated in Moscow. The absence of Ukraine in deciding its own future is very much in line with Putin’s policy toward its neighbor. Putin has long rejected Ukrainian statehood and the legitimacy of the Ukrainian government, or as he calls it the “Kyiv regime.”

While the U.S. delegation did reiterate that future discussions would have to involve Ukraine at some stage, the Trump administration’s actions and words have no doubt undermined Kyiv’s position and influence.

To that end, the U.S. is increasingly falling in line with Moscow on a key plank of the Kremlin’s plan to delegitimize Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian government: calling for elections in Ukraine as part of any peace deal.

Questioning Zelenskyy’s legitimacy

Challenging Zelenskyy’s legitimacy is part of a deliberate ongoing propaganda campaign by Russia to discredit Ukrainian leadership, weaken support for Ukraine from its key allies and remove Zelenskyy – and potentially Ukraine – as a partner in negotiations.

Claims by the Russian president that his country is ready for peace negotiations appear, to many observers of its three-year war, highly suspect given Russia’s ongoing attacks on its neighbor and its steadfast refusal to date to agree to any temporary truce.

Yet the Kremlin is pushing the narrative that the problem is that there is no legitimate Ukrainian authority with which it can deal. As such, Putin can proclaim his commitments to a peace without making any commitments or compromises necessary to any true negotiation process.

Meanwhile, painting Zelenskyy as a “dictator” dampens the enthusiastic support that once greeted him from democratic countries. This, is turn, can translate to the reduction or even end of military support for Kyiv, Putin hopes, allowing him a fillip in what has become a war of attrition.

What Putin needs for this plan to work is a willing partner to help get the message out that Zelenskyy and the current Ukraine government are not legitimate representatives of their country – and into this gap the new U.S. administration appears to have stepped.

PIX

Then-candidate Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a polling station during Ukraine’s presidential election in Kiev on March 31, 2019.[Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images

Dictating terms

Take the narrative on elections.

At the meeting in Saudi Arabia, the U.S. reportedly discussed elections in Ukraine as being a key part of any peace deal. Trump himself has raised the prospect of elections, noting in a Feb. 18 press conference: “We have a situation where we haven’t had elections in Ukraine, where we have martial law.” The U.S. president went on to claim, incorrectly, that Zelenskyy’s approval rating was down to “4%.” The latest polling actually shows the Ukrainian president to be sitting on a 57% approval rating.

A day later, Trump upped the attacks, describing Zelenskyy as a “dictator without elections.”

Such statements echo Russia’s narrative that the government in Kyiv is illegitimate.

The Kremlin’s claims regarding what it describes as the “legal aspects related to his [Zelenskyy’s] legitimacy” are based on the premise that the Ukraine president’s five-year term as president of Ukraine should have ended in 2024.

And elections in Ukraine would have taken place in May of that year had it not been for the martial law that Ukraine put into place when the Russian Federation launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Martial Law Act – which Ukraine imposed on Feb. 24, 2022 – explicitly bans all elections in Ukraine for the duration of the emergency action.

And while the Ukrainian Constitution only includes language regarding the extension of parliament’s powers until martial law is lifted, constitutional lawyers in Ukraine tend to agree that the implication is that this also applies to presidential powers.

Notwithstanding what the law says, the Kremlin’s questioning of the democratic institutions of Ukraine and its push for elections in Ukraine have found traction in Washington of late. Trump’s special envoy Gen. Keith Kellogg declared on Feb. 1 that elections “need to be done” as part of peace process, saying that elections are a “beauty of a solid democracy.”

The ballot box trap

Zelenskyy is not opposed to elections in principle and has agreed that elections should be held when the time is right. “Once martial law is over, then the ball is in parliament’s court – the parliament then picks a date for elections,” Zelenskyy stated in a Jan. 2 interview.

And he appears to have the backing of the majority of Ukrainians. In May 2024, 69% of Ukrainians polled said Zelenskyy should remain president until the end of marshal law, after which elections should be held.

The issue, as Zelenskyy has said, is the timing and circumstances. “During the war, there can be no elections. It’s necessary to change legislation, the constitution, and so on. These are significant challenges. But there are also nonlegal, very human challenges,” he said on Jan. 4.

Even opposition politicians in Ukraine agree that now is not the time. Petro Poroshenko, Zelenskyy’s main political rival, has dismissed the idea of wartime elections, as has Inna Sovsun, the leader of the opposition Golos Party.

Apart from logistical problems of ensuring free and fair elections in the middle of a war, the conflict would present logistical hurdles to campaigning and accessing polling sites. There is also the question of whether and how to include Ukrainians in Russian-occupied territories and those who are internally displaced, as well as the 6.5 million who fled fighting and currently reside abroad.

Good elections … and bad

Russia did, of course, hold elections during the current conflict. But the 2024 election that Putin won with 87% of the vote was, according to most international observers, neither free nor fair.

Rather, it was a sham vote that only underlined what most political scientists will confirm: Elections are at best a necessary but insufficient marker of democracy.

This point is not wasted on Ukrainians, whose commitment to democracy strengthened in the years leading up to the 2022 invasion. Indeed, a survey taken a few months into the war found that 76% of Ukrainians agreed that democracy was the best form of governance – up from 41% three years earlier.

There are other reasons Ukraine might be wary of elections. The adversarial nature of political campaigns can be divisive, especially among a society in high stress.

Ukrainian politicians have openly argued that holding an election during the war would be destabilizing for Ukrainian society, undermining the internal unity in face of Russian aggression.

Outside influence

And then there is concern over outside influence in any election. Ukrainians have had enough experience with Russian meddling in their politics to take it for granted that the Kremlin will attempt to put a thumb on the scale.

Russia has since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 employed its substantial resources to influence Ukraine’s politics through all available means, ranging from propaganda, economic pressures and incentives to energy blackmail, threats and use of violence.

In 2004, Moscow’s electoral manipulations in favor of the pro-Russian candidate, Viktor Yanukovich, led to the Orange Revolution – in which Ukrainians rose up to reject rigged elections. Nine years later, Yanukovich – who became president in 2010 – was deposed though the Revolution of Dignity, which saw Ukrainians oust a man many saw as a Russian stooge in favor of a path toward greater integration with Europe.

Putin’s history of meddling in elections extends beyond Ukraine, of course. Most recently, the Romanian Constitutional Court annulled the country’s presidential elections, citing an electoral process compromised by foreign interference.

An impossible position

In raising elections as a prerequisite to negotiations, Putin is setting a “catch-22” trap for Ukraine: The Ukrainian Constitution states that elections can happen only when martial law is lifted; but the lifting of the martial law is possible only when the “hot phase” of the war is over. So without a ceasefire, no election is possible.

But in refusing to agree to elections, Ukraine can be cast as the blockage to any peace deal – playing to a narrative that is already forming in the U.S. administration that Kyiv is the problem and will need to be sidelined for there to be progress.

In short, in seemingly echoing Russian talking points on an election being a prerequisite for peace, the U.S. puts the Ukrainian government in an impossible position: Agree to the vote and risk internal division and outside interference, or reject it and allow Moscow – and, perhaps, Washington – to frame Ukraine’s leaders as illegitimate and unable to negotiate on the behalf of their people.

Lena Surzhko Harned, Associate Teaching Professor of Political Science, Penn State

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Right-wing media are divided after Trump pushed Russian propaganda to attack Ukraine

Written by Media Matters Staff

Research contributions from Isabella Corrao, Courtney Hagle, Helena Hind, Jane Lee, Alicia Sadowski & Chloe Simon

Published 02/20/25 mma

On February 18, President Donald Trump pushed multiple false claims about the war in Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky’s involvement in it, falsely suggesting that Ukraine started the war and that Zelensky is a “dictator without elections.” Both claims echo Russian propaganda about the war.

Many right-wing media figures praised Trump's comments, with some commentators even following in his footsteps to target Zelensky. Others denounced Trump's remarks as “music to the ears of Vladimir Putin.”

In the last week, Donald Trump has pushed falsehoods about Ukraine, to the delight of leading Russian political figures

During February 18 remarks at Mar-a-Lago, Trump falsely accused Ukraine of starting the war with Russia, drawing praise from Russian officials. “You never should have started it,” he told reporters, addressing Ukraine’s leaders, before claiming Ukraine “could have made a deal.” Trump was dismissing concerns from Ukrainian authorities — including Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky — that they had been excluded from peace talks in Saudi Arabia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov praised Trump’s comments about Ukraine and NATO, remarking in a speech to Russian lawmakers, “This is already a signal that he understands our position.” New York Times, [2/19/25; The Guardian; 2/18/25; NBC; 2/18/25]

- Russia started the war by launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 after annexing Crimea in 2014.The invasion was widely condemned by world leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin was later accused of war crimes in Ukraine by the International Criminal Court, which issued a warrant for his arrest. New York Times, [2/19/25]

- Trump later called Zelensky a “dictator without elections” in a Truth Social post doubling down on his false statements, echoing Kremlin propaganda. “Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,” Trump threatened in a post that repeatedly attacked the Ukrainian leader. Russian President Vladimir Putin has alleged that Zelensky’s presidency is “illegitimate” due to the suspended election, and Trump appears to be repeating Moscow’s narrative. Twitter/X, [2/19/25; BBC, 2/19/25]

- Zelensky was elected to a five year term in 2019, and Ukraine’s 2024 election was suspended due to martial law triggered by Russia’s 2022 invasion. Zelensky has promised that an election will be held once the war ends, as holding an election in an active war zone would be difficult, if not impossible according to some experts. BBC, [2/19/25]

- Trump has also demanded $500 billion of Ukrainian rare earth minerals in exchange for U.S. support in the war. During a Fox News interview, Trump claimed that Ukraine “essentially agreed to do that.” When presented with a proposal for the U.S. to own half of Ukraine’s rare minerals during a meeting in Kyiv, Zelensky declined to sign the document. Politico, [2/11/25; NBC, 2/14/25]

- Russian political figure Dmitry Medvedev: “If you'd told me just three months ago that these were the words of the US president, I would have laughed out loud. @realDonaldTrump is 200 percent right.” Twitter/X, [2/19/25]

### Some in right-wing media denounced Trump’s remarks and criticized his support of Russia

The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro: “Ukraine absolutely did not start the war.” Shapiro continued, “I have some moral objections" to the things Trump said about Ukraine. *The Ben Shapiro Show*, [2/19/25]

- The Wall Street Journal released an editorial titled “The Rapid Rehab of Vladimir Putin.”“We realize that the ruthless men who rule much of the world can’t be ignored. But usually those men aren’t rewarded with a visit to the U.S., as Mr. Trump hinted last week, before they’ve made any compromises.” Wall Street Journal, [2/18/25]

- :{:{The New York Post’s editorial board }:wrote, “Trump is asking for FAR too much ‘payback’ from war-torn Ukraine.”“The president’s off-the-cuff remarks about Zelensky late Tuesday were wildly off-base. … He didn’t start it, and he’s had no chance to end it except by surrendering to the blood-soaked invader: Whatever negotiating tactics Trump cares to use, turning the truth completely upside down ought to be beneath him.” New York Post, [2/18/25]

- National Review’s Jim Geraghty wrote that “somewhere in Moscow, Vladimir Putin must be grinning from ear to ear.”National Review, [2/19/25]

- National Review’s Noah Rothman posted a piece titled “Ukraine Is Not the Bad Guy,” arguing that “Ukraine’s sins amount to its existence as an independent state with a non-Russian culture and its failure to roll over and submit to its Russian conquerors.” Rothman continued, “If the goal is peace, the talks are off to a bad start. If, however, the Trump administration’s goal is merely to make Ukraine into a scapegoat for the president’s failure to secure a cease-fire early in his second term, things are going swimmingly.” National Review, [2/18/25]

- Fox News’ chief political analyst Brit Hume wrote that Trump’s comments are “music to the ears of Vladimir Putin.” Twitter/X, [2/19/25]

- Conservative blog Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey wrote that “working to end the war in Ukraine is a rational policy goal. Blaming the Ukrainians for being invaded is something else.” Morrissey claimed Trump was “pretending that Ukraine started the war so as to get a deal with the real aggressor at any cost necessary.” Hot Air, [2/19/25]

- Fox and Townhall’s Guy Benson said Trump’s comments were “perhaps a fitting lecture for Russia — the ones who’ve done the killing and demolishing he laments — not Ukraine.” Benson added, “I’m open to Trump pursuing an uncomfortable resolution to Russia’s horrible war, but I’m not open to him blaming the Ukrainians for it.” Twitter/X, [2/18/25]

- Fox anchor Martha MacCallum pushed back on Trump's criticism of Zelensky: “He said that Zelensky has a 4% approval rating. The numbers that we have seen are closer — are more in the 50% range.” She continued, “He’s criticizing Zelensky for not holding elections. … Can an election take place in the middle of this war at all?” Fox News, *The Story with Martha MacCallum*, [2/19/25]

- Brit Hume: “The president said that Zelensky was to blame for the — started the war, basically. He did not start the war. Vladimir Putin started the war.” Fox News, *Special Report with Bret Baier*, [2/19/25]

- Newsmax host Greta Van Susteren said, “A lot of people are losing sight of the fact that the aggressor was Putin.” Newsmax, *The Record with Greta Van Susteren*, [2/19/25]

- Newsmax foreign correspondent Zach Anders reported that even a member of the opposition party in Ukraine’s parliament admitted that Zelensky “still has considerable support.” Newsmax, *The Record with Greta Van Susteren*, [2/19/25]

- New York Post columnist John Podhoretz: Trump’s remarks about Ukraine were “utterly despicable.”Commentary, [2/18/25]

- Right-wing pollster Patrick Ruffini on Trump’s Truth Social post: “Don’t love it.” Twitter/X, [2/19/25]

- Streamer Asmongold called Trump’s comments “unnecessarily antagonistic.” He said: “I don't understand where all this is coming from. I really don't. I feel like this is just like, why do you have to say this? It seems, like, unnecessarily antagonistic. It's negative about Ukraine. Ukraine didn't — like, Ukraine got attacked by Russia. They got invaded by Russia.” Twitch, Zackrawrr,[2/19/25]

### Others downplayed criticism of Trump or supported his remarks

Social media influencer Ian Miles Cheong posted, “On what planet is Ukraine an American ally?”He added: “The US might be Ukraine’s ‘ally’ but that relationship has been entirely one sided. … End the war now.” Twitter/X, [2/19/25]

- Right-wing talk radio host Steve Deace posted, “The message from the president is clear. Zelenskyyyyyyyy has worn out his welcome. Time to cut a deal and keep at least some of your country.” Twitter/X, [2/19/25]

- Breitbart News Network Washington bureau chief Matthew Boyle called Trump’s comments a “complete throwdown” and “amazing stuff.” Twitter/X, [2/19/25]

- Fox anchor Sandra Smith framed Trump’s comments on Zelensky as “both presidents taking jabs at each other.” Fox News, *America Reports*, [2/19/25]

- The Federalist’s Brianna Lyman said Trump is “100% right about elections,” noting that “we have defended and justified sending all of this money to Ukraine because they're supposedly the lone bulwark of democracy over there” but “they have not held elections, they don’t have free press there.” Lyman continued, “In order for President Trump to fulfill the promises that Democrats should have done, which is promote democracy, he should require new elections in Ukraine as part of this peace deal, he should require minerals, and he should say Zelensky, you may have a say but you don’t be the final determining factor.” Fox Business, *Mornings with Maria Bartiromo*, [2/19/25]

- Fox anchor Maria Bartiromo repeated Trump's claim about Zelensky’s “lack of popularity with that 4% number in terms of the potential for elections” — and was immediately corrected by her guest Bill Browder. Fox Business, *Mornings with Maria Bartiromo*, [2/19/25]

- Newsmax host Carl Higbie: “How about Ukraine hold an election because Zelensky canceled their elections?” Newsmax, *Carl Higbie Frontline*, [2/18/25]

- :{:{Newsmax host Rob Schmitt asked Richard Grenell,}: the special presidential envoy for special missions, “Do you believe that Western enthusiasm — I think more European enthusiasm — for Ukraine to join NATO is what led to this invasion three years ago?”Newsmax, *Rob Schmitt Tonight*, [2/18/25]

Megyn Kelly said that Zelensky continues to “yap” about being unhappy with Putin and Trump's meeting. Kelly said there was no “hope of resolution until Trump got directly involved” and “Zelensky would do well to just be quiet for awhile to see what Trump can accomplish.” Kelly continued that “realistically, you'll probably do what we'll tell you to because your war ends without our support” and that Zelensky “keeps dropping these not helpful statements.” Sirius XM, *The Megyn Kelly Show*, [2/19/25]

- Newsmax host Rob Finnerty asked why Zelensky is still president after his term ended, saying, “What about a democracy holding elections? Huh? How about that?” Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt, the deputy U.S. military representative to NATO, said Zelensky wouldn’t win the election he has promised to hold after martial law ends: “He’s done.” Newsmax, *Finnerty*, [2/18/25]

- Conservative columnist Byron York suggested Trump’s claim that Ukraine started the war is part of a strategic “plan.”He explained: “The fact is Russia invaded Ukraine; that’s just the fact here. Why is the president saying otherwise? My feeling is it is part of his plan. I do not know what he intends to do … but this is the kind of thing that Trump does to irritate some parties while he is appealing to others.” Fox News, *Special Report with Bret Baier*, [2/19/25]

- Fox host Laura Ingraham aired a chyron that read “Trump won’t bow to dictators” while a photo of Zelensky appeared on screen. Fox News, *The Ingraham Angle*, [2/19/25]

- With a chyron saying “Trump faces outrage trying to end Russian-Ukraine war,” Newsmax host Greg Kelly asked if Zelensky is “in on the joke” about Trump’s statements. Newsmax, *Greg Kelly Reports*, [2/19/25]

---

AN 2 25

Fox News host Mark Levin offered a rebuttal of President Donald Trump’s misleading claims about the war between Russia and Ukraine on his radio show Wednesday, voicing his support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“While Levin did not present his argument as being a rebuke of Trump, most of his points seemed to be aimed at debunking Trump’s claims over the last few days,” writes Mediaite’s Isaac Schorr.

“Now look, I don’t have a problem if it’s the position of our administration to cut back on support for Ukraine — which I oppose, by the way — then so be it,” Levin said. “Elections have consequences, so be it. But I want to make sure the facts are on the table and you, the American people, draw your own conclusion.”

“MAGA doesn’t support Putin,” he said.

Trump recently claimed that Zelenskyy’s approval rating was at 4 percent and suggested that Ukraine started the war.

“Zelenskyy’s latest poll, he’s at 57 percent,” Levin said.

“The parliament — with all parties in the parliament — support what he’s doing,” he added. “They’re trying to survive. Ukraine did not invade Russia. Russia invaded Ukraine.”

"He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden 'like a fiddle,'" Trump posted on Truth Social Wednesday. "A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left. In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only 'TRUMP,' and the Trump Administration, can do. Biden never tried, Europe has failed to bring Peace, and Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the 'gravy train' going. I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died – And so it continues….."

Levin defended Zelenskyy’s actions. “Zelenskyy ordered martial law — that’s what the constitution there compelled,” he said. “Zelenskyy hasn’t called for an election — that’s what the constitution there compels. Now, I’m waiting for the first free election for Vladimir Putin. I mean, this is almost comical in a sick way that Putin is demanding an election. Why is he demanding an election in Ukraine when he doesn’t have free and real elections in his own country? And why does he — why does he get to call the shots when in fact, he murders people who dare to challenge him?”

“This is what we’re dealing with. Again, old KBG, and not just KBG, [Putin] was in like Flynn with the Stasi in East Germany. So, I don’t know why there are people that not only oppose Zelenskyy, but seem to support Putin,” said Levin.

People with this position are pushing “policies that in many ways are un-American in my view, and policies that if they had espoused these policies not that long ago, people would have wondered if they were on the take, or who they’re working for, something like that," he added. "Not that they are, but they would wonder.”

“Ukraine doesn’t have the industrial might that a Russia has — or a China. A relatively small population of around 40 million people, mostly an agricultural country. They didn’t start this war. What were they supposed to do? Roll over and play dead?” he asked.

“If Ukraine is making preposterous demands that cannot be met, that’s another problem, that’s another problem. But the idea that Ukraine must hold elections in violation of its own constitution as a condition for peace, or that Ukraine must give up more territory as a condition for peace… you have to understand the Ukrainian people don’t want to do that. That’s why Zelenskyy at 57%, higher than most politicians in our own country!” he said.

===

---

MMA

February 19, 2025, edition of Fox Business' Mornings with Maria

MARIA BARTIROMO (ANCHOR): Trump says he could meet with Vladimir Putin before the February. Joining me now is the head of the global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, the CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, Sir Bill Browder. Bill, it's good to see you this morning. Thanks so much for being here. You've had plenty of run-ins with Vladimir Putin. Give us your reaction to all of this.

BILL BROWDER (GUEST): Well, Vladimir Putin — so my run-ins with Vladimir Putin was he murdered my lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, and a bunch of other people. And, he's been chasing me around the world ever since with death threats and so on. And so I know Vladimir Putin very well, and he's a very bad guy, a man who shouldn't be trusted. And so when I'm watching this whole thing playing itself out, I'm thinking to myself that we need to be more supportive of Ukraine who are the victims and and a little bit less chummy with Putin who is the aggressor in this whole situation. I find — that, you know, at the end of the day, Putin could end this war in right this minute by just stopping. That that's the thing. If Ukraine is defending, Putin's attacking, and he could stop. And so that's what we should be pushing for.

BARTIROMO: Yeah. It's a great point that you make. And and, you know, it certainly felt in those comments from President Trump that he was more critical of Zelensky, certainly name noting, his, lack of popularity with that 4% number in terms of the potential for elections.

BROWDER: That number comes out of thin air. There's no 4% number. Zelensky's got a 52% approval rating, not a 4% approval rating. And they're under attack. The reason they have martial law is because this country has been invaded. They have air strikes every day from from Russia. I think it's highly unfair for for him to be critical of the victim. He should be critical of the person who's launching the air strikes.

BARTIROMO: And and certainly, when you think about, you know, approval for Vladimir Putin, I mean, what are you gonna say when you get the phone call? What do you think of Vladimir Putin? You better say you love him. So I don't believe anything on the Russia side either in terms of approval of Vladimir Putin. But what's your take on Ukraine not even being part, of that peace talk yesterday? I mean, President Trump has made the point. Look. He's been part of the talks for three years, but Zelensky makes the point that he wasn't at the table, in Saudi Arabia, and he says he's not gonna accept any outcome without being part of the talks.

...

BARTIROMO: What do you think, Bill? Zelensky later canceled his own scheduled visit to Saudi Arabia following the talks.

BROWDER: Well, it's the whole thing, again, is Putin invaded Ukraine. Putin thought he was gonna win in three days, and he didn't. And why didn't he win in three days? Because the Ukrainians bravely fought back and they said we don't want you to invade our country. We don't want you to kill our men, rape our women, and kidnap our children.

There wasn't — this was not a time for negotiation. This was a time for them to defend themselves. And so it's there there was no chance for for any negotiation to happen. It's — this was a brutal dictatorship of invading a peaceful neighbor who didn't wanna be invaded. And so I think, President Trump is being very unfair to, Volodymyr Zelensky.

It pains me to see him saying these things. I think that he should be supporting the the victim in this thing, the the democratically elected victim. Vladimir Putin has been a dictator for twenty five years. He's taken over Georgia. He's carpet bombed Syria. He's done all sorts of terrible things. I think we need to understand who the good guys are and who the bad guys here. Ukraine is the good guys and Putin is the bad guy.

---

90 min phone trump putin, rubio hegseth mixed msgs rstore to g8, visit us ussr

an 2 25

After a week of disastrous messaging by U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, resulting in a 180-degree turn and leaving European leaders and some Americans wondering what U.S. foreign policy is, the Trump administration is once again under fire as critics charge the team he has assembled to start discussions with Russia over its illegal war against Ukraine does not match the “heavyweights” Russia is sending.

The U.S. is already in the hot seat as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — who has made clear his country will accept no peace deal if they are not part of the negotiations — appears to have been frozen out of the initial talks, which were held Tuesday in Saudi Arabia.

European officials attending the Munich Security Conference last week, “stressed the need for Ukraine to be part of peace talks to end the war. Vice President JD Vance met with Zelenskyy in Munich Friday, telling him the U.S. wants a ‘durable, lasting peace,’ while Zelensky asked for ‘security guarantees,'” CBS News reported.

“Zelenskyy told the conference of world leaders that Ukraine would not accept a deal made ‘behind our backs without our involvement,’ and called for the creation of ‘armed forces of Europe’ amid the possibility of a changing relationship between Europe and the U.S.”

Early Tuesday afternoon the Associated Press, calling it “an extraordinary about-face in U.S. foreign policy,” reported: “Russia and US agree to work toward ending Ukraine war in a remarkable diplomatic shift.”

CNN reported that the “United States and Russia agreed on four principles following talks that lasted more than four hours in Saudi Arabia, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday, including appointing a high-level teamto help ‘negotiate and work through the end of the conflict in Ukraine’ in a way that’s ‘acceptable to all the parties engaged.’ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not invited to the talks,said Ukraine will not ‘give in to Russia’s ultimatums’ and earlier said he would refuse to sign any agreement negotiated without Kyiv’s involvement.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who reportedly was part of Tuesday’s talks, described them as “useful.”

The talks are expected to continue after this initial meeting. Trump administration officials at the talks in Saudi Arabia included U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

Foreign policy expert and historian Sławomir Dębski, a former Russia foreign policy analyst, over the weekend described Russia’s team.

He named, “Yury Ushakov, the Kremlin’s chief foreign policy adviser, who has worked in diplomacy for over half a century,” “Sergey Naryshkin, Ushakov’s top spy, who served alongside Putin in the Soviet KGB,” and “Kirill Dmitriev, a financier educated at Stanford and Harvard, who has ties to the Kremlin chief’s family and, according to the publication, could play a key role as an unofficial ‘backchannel’ to Trump’s negotiators.”

“A rumour says that Vladymir Medinsky is to join the Russian team in Riyadh,” Dębski added. “He is a former Minister of Culture. Now he is Putin’s key adviser on ideological aspects of Russian aggression on Ukraine.”

Bloomberg News on Friday reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin “is assembling a heavyweight team with decades of experience in high-stakes negotiations to face off against US President Donald Trump’s representatives for a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.”

“That Putin is opting to rely mostly on highly skilled and experienced negotiators to represent Russia in any talks is hardly a surprise,” Bloomberg added. “The personnel choices underscore just how determined the Russian leader is to secure a favorable outcome in any negotiations and potentially how little his demands in relation to Ukraine have changed in the three years since he ordered the full-scale invasion.”

Yale University Professor Timothy Snyder, a historian and expert on the Soviet Union and the Holocaust, is the author of the popular bestseller, “On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century.”

Responding to Dębski’s post, Snyder warned: “The American team has almost no experience in high-level international negotiation, no regional expertise on Ukraine and Russia, and no relevant foreign language knowledge. Not true of the Russians, to put it mildly. Looks like a bloodbath by design.”

Brad Bowman, senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, blasted the Trump administration.

“It was a mistake for the Trump administration to negotiate with the Taliban without the Afghan government at the table. It is a mistake to negotiate with Putin without including Kyiv,” he wrote. “When the topic is the future of Ukraine, Kyiv has a right to be at the table, especially in light of the sacrifice and bravery of Ukrainians in defending their homes against Putin’s unprovoked invasion. Putin understands that the United States and Europe are more powerful together. That’s why he wants to divide us. We should not help him.”

==}:

ay que lastima

an 2 25

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) to serve as President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence. Republican senators almost unanimously voted for Gabbard despite unified Democratic opposition, with a final vote tally of 52-48.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who was the Senate Republican leader for nearly two decades and a former member of the "Gang of Six" that gets classified intelligence briefings, was the lone dissenter among his party. After casting his "no" vote with Democrats, McConnell ripped Gabbard over her "history of alarming lapses in judgment."

"The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) is a key participant in the process that informs every major national security decision the President makes. The ODNI wields significant authority over how the intelligence community allocates its resources, conducts its collection and analysis, and manages the classification and declassification of our nation's most sensitive secrets," he stated. "In my assessment, Tulsi Gabbard failed to demonstrate that she is prepared to assume this tremendous national trust."

Multiple Democratic elected officials also tore into their GOP colleagues over their decision to be a rubber stamp for Trump. On Bluesky, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) wrote that Gabbard amplified "propaganda" for Russian President Vladimir Putin and deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad for years. Anti-Trump group the Lincoln Project tweeted that Russia refers to Gabbard as "Putin's girlfriend." And Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) slammed Republicans as "worse than useless" for confirming "Tulsi F—ing Gabbard."

"Confirming her as DNI serves only to tell Trump that Senate Rs would rather lick his boots than do a single damn thing to protect our national security," he tweeted. "They are worse than useless. And they are putting every American at risk."

Around the same time Gabbard was confirmed, Fox News liberal host Jessica Tarlov tweeted a video of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (also one of her former Fox News colleagues) calling for Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula — which Russia has been illegally occupying since 2014 — to be considered Russian territory. Hegseth added that Ukraine shouldn't be considered for membership in the NATO alliance anytime soon.

"Tulsi confirmed at virtually the same time," Tarlov wrote. "A sunny day in Moscow even if's still only 19 degrees out."

Software engineer Alex Cole wrly noted on Bluesky that Gabbard — who was once the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee — has found far greater political success after abandoning the Democratic Party.

"Tulsi Gabbard was once on a government watchlist. Now she’s running U.S. intelligence," Cole wrote. "Moral of the story? If at first you don’t succeed, just switch political parties."

Gabbard's alleged closeness to Russia didn't go unnoticed by MSNBC columnist Brandon Friedman. He recalled a time when social media platform Instagram announced it was going dark in Russia on March 13, 2022. He then posted a screenshot of a March 23, 2022 Fox News interview with Gabbard where the former congresswoman complained that her Instagram video views had dropped from 250,000 to 300,000 to just 15,000, suggesting that Russian Instagram users were the main source of her traffic. Friedman called that complaint "the funniest thing" Gabbard said.

Former Chicago Tribune editor Mark Jacob took a more somber tone, writing: "No foreign country in its right mind will share sensitive intelligence with Tulsi Gabbard. We are now a country that's flying blind in a dangerous world."

---

===

7 24

British Broadcasting Corporation

A network of Russia-based websites masquerading as local American newspapers is pumping out fake stories as part of an AI-powered operation that is increasingly targeting the US election, a BBC investigation can reveal.

A former Florida police officer who relocated to Moscow is one of the key figures behind it.

The following would have been a bombshell report - if it were true.

Olena Zelenska, the first lady of Ukraine, allegedly bought a rare Bugatti Tourbillon sports car for 4.5m euros ($4.8m; £3.8m) while visiting Paris for D-Day commemorations in June. The source of the funds was supposedly American military aid money.

The story appeared on an obscure French website just days ago - and was swiftly debunked.

Experts pointed out strange anomalies on the invoice posted online. A whistleblower cited in the story appeared only in an oddly edited video that may have been artificially created. Bugatti issued a sharp denial, calling it "fake news", and its Paris dealership threatened legal action against the people behind the false story.

But before the truth could even get its shoes on, the lie had gone viral. Influencers had already picked up the false story and spread it widely.

One X user, the pro-Russia, pro-Donald Trump activist Jackson Hinkle, posted a link seen by more than 6.5m people. Several other accounts spread the story to millions more X users – at least 12m in total, according to the site’s metrics.

It was a fake story, on a fake news website, designed to spread widely online, with its origins in a Russia-based disinformation operation BBC Verify first revealed last year - at which point the operation appeared to be trying to undermine Ukraine’s government.

Several errors - including spelling mistakes, punctuation and the use of English - were noticed on this fake invoice. But it still spread widely online

Our latest investigation, carried out over more than six months and involving the examination of hundreds of articles across dozens of websites, found that the operation has a new target - American voters.

Dozens of bogus stories tracked by the BBC appear aimed at influencing US voters and sowing distrust ahead of November’s election. Some have been roundly ignored but others have been shared by influencers and members of the US Congress.

The story of the Bugatti hit many of the top themes of the operation – Ukrainian corruption, US aid spending, and the inner workings of French high society.

Another fake which went viral earlier this year was more directly aimed at American politics.

It was published on a website called The Houston Post – one of dozens of sites with American-sounding names which are in reality run from Moscow - and alleged that the FBI illegally wiretapped Donald Trump’s Florida resort.

It played neatly into Trump’s allegations that the legal system is unfairly stacked against him, that there is a conspiracy to thwart his campaign, and that his opponents are using dirty tricks to undermine him. Mr Trump himself has accused the FBI of snooping on his conversations.

Experts say that the operation is just one part of a much larger ongoing effort, led from Moscow, to spread disinformation during the US election campaign.

While no hard evidence has emerged that these particular fake news websites are run by the Russian state, researchers say the scale and sophistication of the operation is broadly similar to previous Kremlin-backed efforts to spread disinformation in the West.

“Russia will be involved in the US 2024 election, as will others,” said Chris Krebs, who as the director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency was responsible for ensuring the integrity of the 2020 presidential election.

“We're already seeing them - from a broader information operations perspective on social media and elsewhere - enter the fray, pushing against already contentious points in US politics,” he said.

The BBC contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry and Russia’s US and UK embassies, but received no response. We also attempted to contact Mr Hinkle for comment.

How the fakes spread

Chicago Chronicle

The real Chicago Chronicle (top) had its heyday in the late 1800s. Below, the logo of the fake news site which appeared online in the last few months

Since state-backed disinformation campaigns and money-making “fake news” operations attracted attention during the 2016 US election campaign, disinformation merchants have had to get more creative both in spreading their content and making it seem credible.

The operation investigated by BBC Verify uses artificial intelligence to generate thousands of news articles, posted to dozens of sites with names meant to sound quintessentially American – Houston Post, Chicago Crier, Boston Times, DC Weekly and others. Some use the names of real newspapers that went out of business years or decades ago.

Most of the stories on these sites are not outright fakes. Instead, they are based on real news stories from other sites apparently rewritten by artificial intelligence software.

In some instances, instructions to the AI engines were visible on the finished stories, such as: “Please rewrite this article taking a conservative stance”.

An example of instructions to an AI program - mistakenly left on a story on one of the fake news sites

The stories are attributed to hundreds of fake journalists with made-up names and in some cases, profile pictures taken from elsewhere on the internet.

For instance, a photo of best-selling writer Judy Batalion was used on multiple stories on a website called DC Weekly, “written” by an online persona called “Jessica Devlin”.

“I was totally confused,” Ms Batalion told the BBC. “I still don't really understand what my photo was doing on this website.”

Ms Batalion said she assumed the photo had been copied and pasted from her LinkedIn profile.

“I had no contact with this website,” she said. “It's made me more self-conscious about the fact that any photo of yourself online can be used by someone else.”

Judy Batalion

Judy Batalion had nothing to do with the fake news operation, but her photo was one of several that were copied-and-pasted from elsewhere on the internet in order to make the network's reporters seem real.

The sheer number of stories - thousands each week - along with their repetition across different websites, indicates that the process of posting AI-generated content is automated. Casual browsers could easily come away with the impression that the sites are thriving sources of legitimate news about politics and hot-button social issues.

However, interspersed within this tsunami of content is the real meat of the operation - fake stories aimed increasingly at American audiences.

The stories often blend American and Ukrainian political issues - for instance one claimed that a worker for a Ukrainian propaganda outfit was dismayed to find that she was assigned tasks designed to knock down Donald Trump and bolster President Biden.

Another report invented a New York shopping trip made by Ukraine’s first lady, and alleged she was racist towards staff at a jewellery store.

The BBC has found that forged documents and fake YouTube videos were used to bolster both false stories.

Some of the fakes break out and get high rates of engagement on social media, said Clement Briens, senior threat intelligence analyst at cybersecurity company Recorded Future.

His company says that 120 websites were registered by the operation - which it calls CopyCop - over just three days in May. And the network is just one of a number of Russia-based disinformation operations.

Other experts - at Microsoft, Clemson University, and at Newsguard, a company that tracks misinformation sites - have also been tracking the network. Newsguard says it has counted at least 170 sites connected to the operation.

“Initially, the operation seemed small,” said McKenzie Sadeghi, Newsguard’s AI and foreign influence editor. “As each week passed it seemed to be growing significantly in terms of size and reach. People in Russia would regularly cite and boost these narratives, via Russian state TV, Kremlin officials and Kremlin influencers.

“There's about a new narrative originating from this network almost every week or two,” she said.

Making the fake appear real

To further bolster the credibility of the fake stories, operatives create YouTube videos, often featuring people who claim to be “whistleblowers” or “independent journalists”.

In some cases the videos are narrated by actors – in others it appears they are AI-generated voices.

Several of the videos appear to be shot against a similar-looking background, further suggesting a co-ordinated effort to spread fake news stories.

The videos aren’t themselves meant to go viral, and have very few views on YouTube. Instead, the videos are quoted as “sources” and cited in text stories on the fake newspaper websites.

YouTube

The fake YouTube 'whistleblower' who was cited as a source in the false story about the alleged FBI wiretap of Donald Trump

For instance, the story about the Ukrainian information operation allegedly targeting the Trump campaign cited a YouTube video which purported to include shots from an office in Kyiv, where fake campaign posters were visible on the walls.

Links to the stories are then posted on Telegram channels and other social media accounts.

Eventually, the sensational “scoops” - which, like the Trump wiretap story and a slew of earlier stories about Ukrainian corruption, often repeat themes already popular among patriotic Russians and some supporters of Donald Trump - can reach both Russian influencers and audiences in the West.

Although only a few rise to the highest levels of prominence, some have spread to millions – and to powerful people.

A story which originated on DC Weekly, claiming that Ukrainian officials bought yachts with US military aid, was repeated by several members of Congress, including Senator J D Vance and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Mr Vance is one of a handful of politicians mentioned as a potential vice-presidential running mate for Donald Trump.

The former US cop

One of the key people involved in the operation is John Mark Dougan, a former US Marine who worked as a police officer in Florida and Maine in the 2000s.

Mr Dougan later set up a website designed to collect leaked information about his former employer, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

In a harbinger of his activities in Russia, Mr Dougan’s site published authentic information including the home addresses of police officers, alongside fake stories and rumours. The FBI raided his apartment in 2016, at which point he fled to Moscow.

He has since written books, reported from occupied parts of Ukraine and has made appearances on Russian think tank panels, at military events and on a TV station owned by Russia’s ministry of defence.

In text message conversations with the BBC, Mr Dougan has flatly denied being involved with the websites. On Tuesday, he denied any knowledge of the story about the Bugatti sports car.

But at other times he has bragged about his prowess in spreading fake news.

At one point he also implied that his activities are a form of revenge against American authorities.

“For me it’s a game," he said. “And a little payback.”

At another point he said: “My YouTube channel received many strikes for misinformation” for his reporting from Ukraine, raising the prospect of his channel being taken offline.

“So if they want to say misinformation, well, let’s do it right,” he texted.

X (Twitter)

Mr Dougan has chronicled his trips to Ukraine on his social media feeds and on appearances on Russian state TV

A large body of digital evidence also shows connections between the former police officer and the Russia-based websites.

The BBC and experts we consulted traced IP addresses and other digital information back to websites run by Dougan.

At one point a story on the DC Weekly site, written in response to a New York Times piece which mentioned Dougan, was attributed to “An American Citizen, the owner of these sites,” and stated: “I am the owner, an American citizen, a US military veteran, born and raised in the United States.”

The article signed off with Dougan’s email address.

Shortly after we reported on Mr Dougan’s activities in a previous story, a fake version of the BBC website briefly appeared online. It was linked through digital markers to his network.

## Listen to Trending on The Documentary podcast feed

## How Zelensky yachts fable influenced US aid debate

Mr Dougan is most likely not the only person working on the influence operation and who funds it remains unclear.

“I think it's important not to overplay his role in this campaign," said Darren Linvill, co-director of Clemson University’s Media Forensic Hub, which has been tracking the network. “He may be just a bit of a bit player and a useful dupe, because he's an American.”

Despite his appearances on state-run media and at government-linked think tanks, Mr Dougan denies he is being paid by the Kremlin.

“I have never been paid a single dime by the Russian government,” he said via text message.

Targeting the US election

The operation that Dougan is involved in has increasingly shifted its focus from stories about the war in Ukraine to stories about American and British politics.

The false article about the FBI and the alleged wiretap at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort was one of the first stories produced by the network that was entirely about US politics, with no mention of Ukraine or Russia.

Clint Watts, who leads Microsoft’s Digital Threat Analysis Center, said that the operation often blends together issues with salience both in Ukraine and the West.

Mr Watts said that the volume of content being posted and the increasing sophistication of Russia-based efforts could potentially pose a significant problem in the run-up to November’s election.

“They're not getting mass distribution every single time,” he said, but noted that several attempts made each week could lead to false narratives taking hold in the “information ocean” of a major election campaign.

“It can have an outsized impact", and stories from the network can take off very quickly, he said.

“Gone are the days of Russia purchasing ads in roubles, or having pretty obvious trolls that are sitting in a factory in St. Petersburg,” said Nina Jankowicz, head of the American Sunlight Project, a non-profit organisation attempting to combat the spread of disinformation.

Ms Jankowicz was briefly director of the short-lived US Disinformation Governance Board, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security designed to tackle false information.

“Now we're seeing a lot more information laundering,” she said - using a term referring to the recycling of fake or misleading stories into the mainstream in order to obscure their ultimate source.

Where it goes next

YouTube

A YouTube video narrated by an AI-generated voice was planted as the source for the false story that Mr Zelensky bought a £20m mansion from King Charles III

Microsoft researchers also say the operation is attempting to spread stories about UK politics – with an eye on Thursday’s general election – and the Paris Olympics.

One fake story – which appeared on the website called the London Crier – claimed that Mr Zelensky bought a mansion owned by King Charles III at a bargain price.

It was seen by hundreds of thousands of users on X, and shared by an official Russian embassy account. YouTube removed an AI-narrated video posted by an obscure channel that was used as the source of the false story after it was flagged by BBC Verify.

And Mr Dougan hinted at even bigger plans when asked whether increased attention on his activities would slow the spread of his false stories.

“Don’t worry,” he said, “the game is being upped.”

Giuliani suggests Republicans in Congress pressure Ukraine: “Somebody should lean on Zelensky. You want another penny? Give us your Biden — give us your Biden file.”

04/30/24

maga mike finally allows vote, mtg tries to oust 4 24

===

12 23 bb

russia-is-repurposing-purchased-cameo-videos-from-us-celebrities-to-make-them-seem-to-be-disparaging-ukraines-leader

The Microsoft Threat Analysis Center has released a report stating that Russia has been covertly purchasing Cameo video messages from US celebrities, purportedly for fans, and then manipulating them to make it seem to be messages directed at Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky. Celebrities whose video messages have been used include Elijah Wood, Mike Tyson, John McGinley ("Scrubs"), and Kate Flannery ("The Office"). Link to the article in The New York Times here.

*The Kremlin has unleashed a new weapon in its information war with the West: the fake celebrity cameo.

*"Hi, Vladimir, Elijah here," the actor Elijah Wood said in a video packaged to seem as if Mr. Wood were addressing Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky. The actor, best known for playing Frodo Baggins in "Lord of the Rings," urged the president to enter treatment for drug and alcohol abuse. "I hope you can get the help you need," Mr. Wood signed off.

*The video was recorded on Cameo, the popular, though now struggling, app where users can pay for personalized messages from famous people — in Mr. Wood's case, starting at $340. While a genuine video, it was repurposed as part of Russia's efforts to falsely denigrate Mr. Zelensky as a drug-addled neo-Nazi. Beginning in July, according to a report released on Thursday by Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center, the video and others like it ricocheted through Russian social media and were ultimately featured by news organizations owned or controlled by the government.

A representative for Elijah Wood confirmed that he had recorded the message on Cameo in response to a request, but it was "in no way intended to be addressed to Zelensky or have anything at all to do with Russia or Ukraine or the war."

---

an 3 23

conservative commentator Candance Owens said on Thursday's edition of her Daily Wire show that if she could "get away with punching one person in the face and have no consequences," that individual would be Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.}:

Owens' manufactured outrage stemmed from a speech that Zelenskyy gave earlier this week in which he contemplated the fallout of a direct clash between Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which is arming Ukraine's defenses against Russian President Vladimir Putin's illegal invasion.

The clip has circulated among right-wing circles, who have taken Zelenskyy's comments out of context in order to justify opposition to the aid that the West is providing to Ukraine.

"Take a listen to Zelenskyy warning you of what will happen if youstop funding his lifestyle," Owens said before rolling the Zelenskyy footage.

"The US will have to send their sons and daughters exactly the same way as we are sending their sons and daughters to war," Zelenskyy said through a translator. "And they will have to fight because it's, uh, NATO that we're talking about, and they will be dying, God forbid, because it's a horrible thing."

Owens used that as a pretext to, ostensibly, side with Russia.

"Ooo. Oof. I am not going to say that I'd like to punch Zelenskyy in the face cause that's, that's violent. But I am saying that if I could get away with punching one person in the face and have no consequences, it would be President Zelenskyy," Owens snapped. "I can't even tell you how much oof I harbor for him; the audacity to tell you that the consequence is going to be that your sons and daughters are going to fight and die if you don't help him secure a win against Russia."

===

an 3 23

**Greene** (R-GA), a far-right Christian nationalist extremist, kicked off her speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)Friday morning by telling the room filled with many empty seats that the left is “coming for our children,” in her hate-filled, lie-filled, fear-mongering, anti-LGBTQ speech portraying her cause as virtuous because, she preached, “our God is bigger.” That God, she promised, would help her pass anti-transgender legislation that “will make it a felony to perform anything to do with gender-affirming care on children.”

“The left has told us something that should put fear in the heart of every parent,” Greene said as she began her speech. “Not just parents – every single person.”

“They said they’re coming for our children,” Greene declared.

“I think the Republican Party has a duty. We have a responsibility, and that is to be the party that protects children,” her speech (video below) continued.

Greene again falsely claimed that **Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy** said “he wants our sons and daughters to go die in Ukraine,” which is the exact opposite of what he said. She attacked the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus for “literally singing we’re coming for your children,” referring to a 2021 “tongue in cheek” song the group received right-wing death threats over because it advocated for teaching children to love and “not to hate.”

She did not offer any other examples where “the left” said they are “coming for our children."

she called medical experts who support transgender children a“billion dollar industry that mutilates the genitals of children” and claimed “they have a target, or should I say a victim?”...

===

an bad 3 23

**U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene** (R-GA) and **U.S. Senator Mike Lee** (R-UT) are actively spreading anti-Ukraine disinformation, posting to Twitter a deceptively-edited video of Volodymyr Zelenskyy,which they falsely claim means the Ukrainian President wants America's "sons and daughters" to die defending Ukraine.

Senator Lee complained his personal Twitter account was suspended at some point after he retweeted the video. It was recently restored and his post with the deceptively-edited video has not been removed.

The original Twitter sources of the video have warning labels that Greene and Lee appear to have ignored before posting. Greene posted it to her official U.S. government Twitter account.

That warning, in the form of a readers' note, says: "This quote is taken out of context. The full quote is :'If Ukraine loses, Russia is going to enter Baltic states, NATO states, then the U.S will have to send their sons and daughters exactly in the same way as we are sending our sons and daughters to war'."

The Associated Press also published a fact check on Wednesday noting the deceptively-edited video is "missing context." The AP states: "He was not suggesting Americans would have to fight in Ukraine."

But in the deceptively-edited video Greene and Lee tweeted, Zelenskyy (via an interpreter) says, "the U.S will have to send their sons and daughters exactly in the same way as we are sending our sons and daughters to war."

Zelenskyy goes on to say, "and they will have to fight because it's NATO that we're talking about. They will be dying, God forbid, because it's a horrible thing."

In the full video from February 24, Zelenskyy is urging Americans to not give up on Ukraine. The most important portion of Zelenskyy's remarks have been edited out in Greene's and Lee's version: "If Ukraine loses, Russia is going to enter Baltic states, NATO states."

Greene tweeted, "There's not a parent in America that wants their son or daughter dying defending Ukraine's border. When have Ukrainian & NATO sons and daughters died defending America's border?"

Lee tweeted, "Zelensky has no right to presume that our sons and daughters will fight his war. Shame on him. We've somehow sent the message that we work for him. Shame on us!"

The 19-second deceptively-edited video has been viewed nearly 400,000 times.

Zelenskyy's (via interpreter):

"I would like to thank the American people. I would like to thank all of the American people that are supporting Ukraine, the Congress, the President, the TV channels, the journalists, and everyone that has been supporting us, and that percentage of Americans, as you've mentioned is increasing. I can tell them only one thing. If they do not change their opinion, if they do not understand us, if they do not support Ukraine, they will lose NATO, they will lose the clout of the United States, they will lose the leadership position that they are enjoying in the world, that they are enjoying for a very fair reason, and they will lose the support of the country with 40 millions of population, with millions of children. Are American children any different than ours? Don't Americans enjoy the same things as we do? I don't think we're that different. And I'm actually very happy that we have bipartisan support, but we keep hearing those messages from time to time and they’re dangerous.

There are political leaders that are elected by people. And if this issue is raised, those political leaders need to be responsible and cautious because people are looking at them. Who wants a third world war? Would anyone risk would anyone be willing to accept that risk? The US is never going to give up on the NATO member states. If it happens so that Ukraine, due to various opinions and weakened and depleting of assistance, loses, Russia is going to enter the Baltic states, NATO member states, and then the US will have to send their sons and daughters exactly the same way as we are sending their sons and daughters to war and they will have to fight because it's NATO that we're talking about and they will be dying, God forbid because it's a horrible thing."

===

gaetz and her smirk at zel sp?

https://www.alternet.org/trump/boebert-russian-tv-brave-zelensky/

===

an raw 12 22

After months of pro-Kremlin state media prediction that the U.S. support for Ukraine would die out, Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov became enraged when he saw an image of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky alongside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris as they accepted and proudly held up the Ukrainian flag, The Daily Beast reports.

As a guest was speaking, Solovyov reportedly was texting with producers, demanding that they remove the clip of Zelensky in the U.S. When the producers didn't react to his demands fast enough, he said, "Guys, get rid of this video, if you can’t read what is being written to you!”

“Zelensky is already on his way to Washington. It’s perhaps a natural path for any traitor... He betrayed his entire Soviet past,” he said. “Our weapon-makers are more talented anyway. Our men are more ingenious because we’re Russians—of many different nationalities. God is with us! Either we will win, or humanity will cease to exist, because the Lord won’t stand for the triumph of warriors of the Antichrist. We are the Lord’s weapon, we are his avenging right hand.”

Watch the video below:

===

https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-calls-ukrainian-president-volodymyr-zelensky-uppity-foreigner

===

an 12 22

During his visit to the United States on Wednesday, December 21, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with President Joe Biden in the White House and gave an English-language speech during a joint session of Congress. Vice President Kamala Harris and outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stood behind Zelensky during his speech, holding up a Ukrainian flag as an expression of solidarity with a country that is experiencing Europe’s worst fighting since World War 2.

Many of the more traditional GOP conservatives in Congress joined Democrats in giving Zelensky a warm reception, but seven far-right MAGA Republicans were so disdainful of the Ukrainian president that they wouldn’t even stand up during his speech. On Twitter, Axios reporter Andrew Solender named the House Republicans who were “repeatedly remaining seated in standing ovations during the Zelensky speech.”

Libertarian/conservative journalist Cathy Young, in a biting article published by The Bulwark on December 22, stressed that the “unhinged” MAGA Republicans who attacked Zelensky during his visit to the U.S. were echoing the talking points of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. One of the anti-Zelensky talking points that often comes from Putin allies in Russia and MAGA Republicans in the U.S. is that Zelensky, who is Jewish, is anti-Christian — a claim that Never Trump conservative Matt Lewis tears apart in a December 23 column for the Daily Beast.

“The charge that Zelensky is at war with Christianity is potentially a potent wedge issue on the right, particularly as Republicans, many of whom are Christian — and many of whom are increasingly skeptical of foreign entanglements — take control of the U.S. House of Representatives next month,” Lewis writes. “Most Republicans still support aiding Ukraine, but support is declining. If this narrative takes hold, it is sure to negatively impact our role as an ally.”

The conservative Daily Beast opinion columnist continues, “Russia knows this.Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, wasted no time in casting Zelensky as an enemy of Christendom, saying, ‘The current Ukrainian authorities have openly become enemies of Christ and the Orthodox faith.’ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov went so far as to accuse Ukraine of ‘waging a war on the Russian Orthodox Church.’”

Lewis goes on to present some data showing that most of Zelensky’s supporters in Ukraine are, in fact, Christians.

“It seems to me that if Zelensky is actually waging a war on Christianity, then it is an ill-advised war against his own constituents,” Lewis explains. “According to the Pew Research Center, 78 percent of Ukrainians identify as Orthodox — a higher percentage than exists in Russia. Meanwhile, only ‘14 percent of the public called themselves faithful to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.’ That leaves a lot of Christians with whom Zelensky isn’t at war.”

Lewis points out that Zelensky “doesn’t talk like a man who is at war with Christians,” adding that during his December 21 speech before Congress, he described Christmas celebrations in Ukraine.

Zelensky told Congress, “We will celebrate Christmas. Maybe candlelit. Not because it’s more romantic, no, but because…. there will be no electricity… We’ll celebrate Christmas. Celebrate Christmas. And even if there is no electricity, the light of our faith in ourselves will not be put out.”

The claim that Jews are trying to force Gentiles to give up their religion is an antisemitic trope from way back. But as Lewis stresses in his December 23 column, Zelensky certainly doesn’t talk like someone who has any problem with Ukrainians practicing Christianity. During his speech before Congress, he sounded like he welcomed it.

“The bottom line is this: It’s impossible for anyone to know exactly what is happening in Ukraine,” Lewis writes. “But I’m inclined to trust Zelensky over Putin. You’d probably have to believe in Santa Claus to believe otherwise.”

===

https://www.alternet.org/tucker-carlson-2658998824/

---

On Wednesday, December 21, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President Joe Biden in the White House and gave an English-language speech during a joint session of Congress.

This was Zelenskyy’s first visit to the United States since Russian forces, on orders from President Vladimir Putin, launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine on February 21. During his speech before Congress, Vice President Kamala Harris and outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stood behind Zelenskyy while holding up a Ukrainian flag in solidarity with his country.

But some far-right MAGA Republicans were not happy to see Zelenskyy getting a warm reception from Biden, Harris, Pelosi and other Democrats. And libertarian/conservative journalist Cathy Young calls out those MAGA Republicans in a biting article published by The Bulwark on December 22 and headlined, “Putin’s Useful Idiots: Right Wingers Lose It Over Zelenskyy Visit.”

Young observes, “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s surprise arrival in Washington on Wednesday for a meeting with President Joe Biden and a speech before Congress has unhinged the always-seething anti-Ukraine Trumpian right, triggering a deluge of snark and grievance…. ‘National conservative’ pundit and Newsweek opinion editor Josh Hammer, who played the ‘obviously, Putin is a thug and Ukraine is the victim here, but….’ game in the early days of the war, went full Putin this time around.”

Hammer, on December 21, tweeted, “Raise your hand if you are personally DONE with the Ukraine gravy train.” And Republican activist Donald Trump Jr., on Twitter, posted, “Zelenskyy is basically an ungrateful international welfare queen.”

“To top it off, Hammer, who shares Zelenskyy’s Jewish heritage, also accused the Ukrainian president of being a bad Jew — unseemly under any circumstances, but all the more so considering that only a few days earlier, Hammer had been spotted at a New York Young Republicans’ Club Gala in the company of various alt-right types with, shall we say, a complicated relationship to antisemitism,” Young writes. “Among them: Rep. Marjorie ‘Jewish Space Lasers’ Taylor Greene, the founders of the white nationalist website VDARE, and erstwhile Jew-baiting troll Jack Posobiec.”

Young notes that the Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh said of Zelenskyy, “Get this grifting leech out of our country please,” while Fox News’ Tucker Carlson mocked Zelenskyy as a “Ukrainian strip club manager” and said of his visit to the U.S., “It may be impossible to imagine a more humiliating scenario for the greatest country on Earth.”

MAGA conspiracy theorist Benny Johnson and Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk slammed Zelenskyy for wearing casual attire during his speech before Congress.

Young writes, “A few other right-wing pundits, including career plagiarist-turned-conspiracy-theory-peddler Benny Johnson and Turning Point USA grifting leech Charlie Kirk, homed in on the really important stuff: Zelenskyy’s outfit…. Of course, Zelenskyy’s clothes were meant to visually convey the fact that he’s in the middle of a brutal war. When you’re just back from a visit to the front lines in an area that looks like a ghost warscape from World War I come back to life, you’ve earned the right to make that particular fashion statement — even on a visit to Washington, D.C.”

The libertarian/conservative journalist goes on to offer some reasons why many MAGA Republicans have such intense “hatred” for Zelenskyy.

“The question of why the Trumpian populist right is so consumed with hatred for Ukraine — a hatred that clearly goes beyond concerns about U.S. spending, a very small portion of our military budget, or about the nonexistent involvement of American troops — doesn’t have a simple answer, Young explains. “Partly, it’s simply partisanship: If the libs are for it, we’re against it, and the more offensively the better. And if the pre-Trump Republican establishment is also for it, then we’re even more against it. Partly, it’s the belief that Ukrainian democracy is a Biden/Obama/Hillary Clinton/‘Deep State’ project, all the more suspect because it’s related to Trump’s first impeachment.”

Young continues, “Partly, it’s the ‘national conservative’ distaste for liberalism — not only in its American progressive iteration, but in the more fundamental sense that includes conservatives like Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher: the outlook based on individual freedom and personal autonomy, equality before the law, limited government, and an international order rooted in those values. Many NatCons are far more sympathetic to Russia’s crusade against secular liberalism than to Ukraine’s desire for integration into liberal, secular Europe. Whatever the reason, the anti-Ukraine animus on the right is quite real and widespread.”

===

omfg

https://www.mediamatters.org/one-america-news-network/oan-calls-darya-dugina-casualty-joe-bidens-red-regime-and-its-war-impose

8 22

PEARSON SHARP (CORRESPONDENT): Washington's proxy war against Russia claims another victim. Darya Dugina, an innocent journalist, who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. On Saturday night, Darya was killed in a massive explosion from a car bomb planted under her father's truck. Evidence suggests that bomb was meant for her father instead – the famous Russian political commentator Aleksandr Dugin, who also happens to be a close friend with president Vladimir Putin. Darya, like her father, has been adamantly opposed to the illegal, criminal, and unprovoked western aggression in eastern Europe, especially towards Russia. Over the last year, she has cemented her reputation as an independent journalist fiercely critical of Joe Biden’s red regime, as well as his efforts to start World War III.

Her reporting took her across the war zones in Ukraine, where she even contributed to a documentary by One America News on the fighting at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Of course, you can't cover Joe Biden’s shadow war against Moscow without including hispuppets in the corrupt Ukrainian government. Puppets like president Volodymyr Zelensky, who’s been bought and paid for by George Soros. But tragically, truth-telling in journalism is rarely profitable, especially for an independent journalist, and Darya’s courageous reporting made her the target of some very powerful enemies.

…

Naturally, Ukraine is denying any involvement. In a very convincing speech, one of Zelensky's stooges protested that Ukraine couldn't be responsible for the assassination because Ukraine is not a criminal state. No, Ukraine is just run by criminals who are financed by the greatest criminals on Earth, like George Soros, and which works hand in hand with the criminals in the Biden crime syndicate. No, no, no reason to suspect Ukraine.

…

SHARP: Following the brutal assassination, western governments drummed up their allies in the media to pump out attacks on Darya, with the BBC even pushing sickening reports trying to portray her death as justified. The New York Times ran a hit piece on Darya, trying to discredit her work and painting her as a pro-Russian radical, calling her an ultranationalist guilty of spreading misinformation about the war in Ukraine.

But for anyone remotely familiar with Darya or her work, that's obviously fake news designed to cover up western war crimes in Ukraine, which Darya was fighting hard to expose.

…

SHARP: These are scenes from the documentary she contributed to for One America News. Darya described the war in Ukraine as the result of liberal fascism,which by definition is exactly what it is. This is a conflict brought on by the liberals, the Democrats in Washington, as a result of the rampant fascism and their war to impose totalitarianism upon the entire world. Darya was absolutely right. And now, she's dead.

…

SHARP: Ultimately, Darya will be remembered as a brave and courageous journalist, who took a stand for freedom, and for the innocent civilians suffering from the illegal wars of Washington. She exposed the crime and corruption behind these conflicts, and paid for it with her life. One more casualty of the criminal war being waged by Joe Biden and his bloody regime.

But as long as we keep her memory alive, and continue reporting the truth about what's happening in Ukraine, then that freedom and her struggle will never die. For One America News, I'm Pearson Sharp.

OAN host uses Nazi youth book burning to push book banning

08/23/22

After Mar-a-Lago search, OAN calls attack on FBI office a false flag

08/15/22

OAN host reacts to FBI Mar-a-Lago search: “We are the closest to Civil War II we've ever been"

08/15/22

===

6 22

propagandists on Russian state television have announced a new objective in President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine – assassinating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Putin's genocidal "special military operation" has slogged on for nearly four months. After failing to capture the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, Moscow has begun intensifying its efforts in the Eastern Russian separatist-controlled regions of Luhansk and Donbas, where they are slowly advancing.

Tens of thousands of Russian troops have died amid fierce resistance by the Ukrainians, who have in turn faced indiscriminate slaughter by Putin's forces. Mass graves outside the flattened Southern port city of Mariupol, for example, have been reported to contain 16,000 victims.

The Kremlin, meanwhile, has pushed the false narrative that Ukraine is a fake country filled with Nazis and that the greater number of its citizens who are massacred, the better. In a recent segment on Russia 1, Putin's stooges expanded on that grim objective, claiming that the only path to victory is to push Russia's borders as far to the West as possible and kill Zelenskyy (who has already survived multiple attempts on his life).

"How far away do we have to move Ukraine? How far away could you move a maniac, a ghoul, who wants to turn everything into dead meat?" propagandist Andrei Sidorchik asked his panel of Zelenskyy. "On which territory will this moment take place, when will this ghoul stop being a ghoul?"

Putin started this war, and that has only emboldened his minions into viciously dehumanizing the Ukrainian population.

"I'm telling you, we're fightingghouls! They mysticallywant to turn everything into dead meat, they announce that openly," Sidorchik continued, which is not true. "We can only stop when they lose the opportunity to kill us. That's why, I'll say it again, the unclean can be stopped only when you drive a stake through it. When a stake is driven through Volodymyr Zelenskyy, then there will be peace. There is no other way."

Professor Vitaly Tretyakov, the Dean of the Higher School of Television at Moscow's Lomonosov State University, agreed.

The translation was provided by The Daily Beast's Julia Davis.

===

it's the tan suit horror redux

An economist who was previously a Republican Senate candidate in Connecticut is facing criticism for his frivolous remarks about Volodymyr Zelensky after the Ukrainian President's recent appeal to members of the U.S. Congress.

On Wednesday, March 16, Peter Schiff, currently the chief economist at Euro Pacific Capital, took to Twitter to share his reaction to Zelensky's virtual address to Congress. Instead of focusing on the president's speech, Schiff opted to criticize him for his attire. Despite facing deadly circumstances, Schiff argued that the Ukrainian president should have worn a suit as he suggested that his attire was disrespectful to the United States.

"I understand times are hard, but doesn't the President of the #Ukraine own a suit? I don't have much respect for current members of the U.S. Congress either, but I still wouldn't address them wearing a t-shirt. I wouldn't want to disrespect the institution or the Unites States."

===

--> IMPEACH

https://www.alternet.org/2020/09/democrats-say-the-gops-attempt-to-smear-biden-accidentally-exposed-a-trump-officials-corrupt-scheme/

igor salon

the Republican report aimed at raising questions about the dealings of Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden in Ukraine appears to have accidentally implicated former Energy Secretary Rick Perry in an energy scheme in the foreign nation, according to the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee.

Republicans led by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., released their much-hyped report on Hunter Biden’s role at the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma on Wednesday. However, it found no evidence of actual wrongdoing and relied largely on debunked claims, old statements and narratives pushed as part of a Russian disinformation campaign.

But the report did find new evidence related to Perry’s actions in Ukraine while he served in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet.

Amos Hochstein, a member of the supervisory board at the state-owned Ukrainian energy firm Naftogaz, told lawmakers that Perry “inappropriately pressured the Ukrainian government” to place Texas oil executive Robert Bensh on the board of the company while officials at the Department of Energy pressured the government to sign a deal with a “private business entity connected to Mr. Bensh,” according to a :{letter Wyden}: sent to Department of Energy Inspector General Teri Donaldson.

perry also pressured the Ukrainian government to place one of his longtime campaign supporters, Michael Bleyzer, on the board during atrip to Ukraine for President Volodymyr Zelensky’s inauguration in 2019, Wyden wrote. Bleyzer and his partner were later awarded a drilling contract in the country.

“Mr. Bleyzer’s contract that he was awarded was despite the fact that he was not the highest bidder in the process,” Hochstein told lawmakers. “Other . . . bids were higher, and therefore, Ukraine chose a bid that paid itself less.”

The heads of the state-owned Naftogaz conglomerate have since filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the contract, arguing that the Ukrainian government acted “illegally and with bias” in agreeing to the deal, Wyden noted.

“Witness testimony in this investigation has directly implicated former Secretary Rick Perry in alleged wrongdoing, and the department more broadly, in a scheme to undermine anti-corruption efforts that were implemented by Ukraine in partnership with the international community,” Wyden wrote.

Politico reported last year that Perry — who along with then-Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland and Ukraine envoy Kurt Volker were the “three amigos” who pushed a shadow foreign policy in Ukraine — played an active role in the Trump administration’s pressure on Zelensky, which ultimately led to thepresident’s impeachment.

ProPublica reported earlier this month that Perry repeatedly pushed deals that “were potentially worth billions of dollars to Perry’s friends and political donors” and could “stand to benefit” the secretary himself. Two of the deals, including one worth $20 billion, went to the Texas firm Energy Transfer. Perry served on the company’s board before and after his stint at the Energy Department and bought shares now worth about $800,000 three months after leaving his post, according to the report.

Ethics experts told the outlet that Perry’s efforts were violations of federal regulations. His actions also caught the attention of federal prosecutors, though he is reportedly not the target of any investigations.

The interview with Hochstein was part of the Senate Republicans’ investigation into whether Hunter Biden’s position at Burisma affected U.S. foreign policy. The report asserted that his position was “problematic and did interfere in the efficient execution of policy with respect to Ukraine.” However, it did not include any new evidence suggesting his role affected the Obama administration’s policy. It also acknowledged that “the extent to which Hunter Biden’s role on Burisma’s board affected U.S. policy toward Ukraine is not clear.”

Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said the probe pushed “Russian disinformation.” He further described it as “an attempted political hit job facilitated by the State Department.”

A Finance Committee aide told Talking Points Memo that finding new evidence against the Trump administration “was certainly not Republicans’ goal.”

“While Republicans’ Ukraine investigation showed Vice President Biden did nothing wrong,” the aide said, “it succeeded in implicating former Secretary Perry in a corrupt scheme to pressure the Ukrainian government to change the board of Naftogaz.”

===

ggl 7 25

CNBC

https://www.cnbc.com › 2019 › 10 › 12 › i-would-like-you-to-do-us-a-favor-the-30-minute-phone-call-that-changed-trumps-presidency.html

'I would like you to do us a favor': The 30 minute phone call that ...

Oct 12, 2019There were dozens of ears listening to President Donald Trump's 30-minute phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that is at the center of a House impeachment inquiry, and as many ...

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FactCheck.org

https://www.factcheck.org › 2019 › 10 › trumps-inaccurate-claims-about-his-perfect-call

Trump's Inaccurate Claims About His 'Perfect' Call

President Trump's request that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, has triggered an impeachment inquiry. Since then ...

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https://www.nbcnews.com › politics › trump-impeachment-inquiry › trump-asked-ukraine-leader-phone-call-look-why-investigation-biden-n1058551

Trump asked Ukraine leader to look into why investigation of Biden's ...

President Donald Trump, in a midsummer phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, asked him to look into why that country's top prosecutor apparently had ended an investigation of ...

Author:Pete Williams,Adam Edelman

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CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

https://www.citizensforethics.org › reports-investigations › crew-investigations › trumps-ukraine-call-context-damning

Trump's Ukraine call was damning, and the context makes it even worse ...

President Trump's call with Zelensky was not "perfect." It was part of a protracted effort by the President, his personal attorney, and administration officials to use the power and prestige of the United States government to get Ukraine to pursue investigations for Trump's personal and political advantage.

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https://www.nbcdfw.com › news › national-international › fact-check-trumps-inaccurate-claims-about-perfect-call › 2076709

Fact Check: Trump's Inaccurate Claims About 'Perfect' Call

President Donald Trump's request that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, has triggered an impeachment inquiry ...

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https://www.yahoo.com › entertainment › white-house-transcript-trump-asked-144510189.html

White House Transcript: Trump Asked Ukraine President to Investigate Biden

President Donald Trump asked Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden during a July 25 phone call, according to a transcript ...

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https://www.businessinsider.com › trump-tweets-was-impeached-for-making-a-perfect-phone-call-2020-1?op=1

Trump Tweets He Was 'IMPEACHED FOR MAKING a PERFECT PHONE CALL ...

At the time of what Trump has repeatedly called a "perfect" phone call with Zelensky, he was moving to place a hold on about $400 million in congressionally approved military aid to Ukraine.

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https://apnews.com › article › trump-zelenskyy-past-relationship-shouting-oval-office-88690f790901687fc1587f1bf89f5036

Trump and Zelenskyy through the years: From a 'perfect' call to pausing ...

Mar 4, 2025The first time Donald Trump spoke to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he tried to pressure Ukraine's new leader to dig up dirt on Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 election.

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https://www.nytimes.com › 2019 › 09 › 25 › us › politics › ukraine-phone-call-transcript.html

The Trump-Zelensky Phone Call: Key Takeaways From Two New Documents

Sep 25, 2019A reconstructed transcript showed President Trump pressing Ukraine to investigate the Bidens, and a Justice Department memo added new details about a whistle-blower's concerns.

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https://uk.news.yahoo.com › trump-zelenskyys-relationship-perfect-phone-112600927.html

Trump and Zelenskyy's relationship: From 'perfect' phone call to Oval ...

Mar 19, 2025During a 30-minute phone call, the US leader suggested that in exchange for future military support for Ukraine, Mr Zelenskyy should help launch an investigation into Joe Biden's son, Hunter. Trump allies alleged Mr Biden had lobbied Ukraine to dismiss its top prosecutor to obstruct a

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https://www.alternet.org/2020/05/new-report-reveals-ukrainian-charges-against-paul-manafort-were-abruptly-halted-last-year

Much has been written about Paul Manafort’s legal problems in the United States, where President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager was sentenced to seven and one-half years in federal prison after being convicted of crimes ranging from witness tampering to tax and bank fraud. But BuzzFeed reporters Tanya Kozyreva and Christopher Miller revealed on Friday that Manafort was also targeted by prosecutors in Ukraine.

“BuzzFeed News can now reveal that in May 2019, as Manafort settled into his U.S. prison cell, a special investigations unit inside the Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office was preparing to wrap up a four-year-long investigation — drafting an indictment for him as well as for Greg Craig, a former Obama White House counsel and partner at the big-shot law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom,” report Kozyreva and Miller, both of whom are based in Kyiv, Ukraine.

The alleged crime in question, according to the BuzzFeed journalists, was embezzling government funds. BuzzFeed has obtained a copy of the Ukrainian indictment, which alleges, “The managing partner of Skadden Law Firm, Gregory B. Craig, and Paul Manafort intentionally participated in the misappropriation of the funds from the State Budget of Ukraine totaling $1,075,381.41 — 8,595,523.61 Ukrainian hryvnias and more than 600 times the tax-free minimum of citizens’ salaries — causing damage to the state.”

The authenticity of the document, according to Kozyreva and Miller, was confirmed by Serhiy Gorbatyuk, a former federal prosecutor for special investigations in Ukraine. According to the BuzzFeed journalists, Gorbatyuk “led the effort to charge Manafort and Craig."

gorbatyuk told BuzzFeed, “In the course of the investigation, enough data was obtained to decide about pursuing criminal prosecution, including that of (Manafort and Craig).”

But Gorbatyuk’s team, he told BuzzFeed, was disbanded after Ukraine’s current president, Volodymyr Zelensky, appointed Ruslan Riaboshapka as the country’s prosecutor general.

Manafort, Kozyreva and Miller note, worked for former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his Russia-associated Party of Regions for “the better part of a decade.” Yanukovych was removed from office in 2014, and he was found guilty of treason in January 2019.

In July 2019, Kozyreva and Miller explain, “Gorbatyuk said the criminal charges for Manafort and Craig were nearly ready, but one of prosecutors decided to hold off because he wanted to send one more request for assistance to the U.S. Department of Justice…. That decision to hold off may have been the thing that ultimately kept Manafort and Craig from being charged in Ukraine.”

U.S. prosecutors sought to bring charges against Craig in 2019 related to his Ukraine work, but a jury found him not guilty.

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https://www.alternet.org/2020/01/mike-pence-denied-knowing-lev-parnas-then-his-lawyer-shared-a-video-of-them-together/

no lnx

Mike Pence denied knowing Lev Parnas — then his lawyer shared a video of them together

Written by Igor Derysh / Salon January 21, 2020

An attorney for Lev Parnas, the indicted former Rudy Guliani associate, shared a video of his client meeting Vice President Mike Pence after Pence denied knowing his client.

“Pence does indeed know the guy,” Parnas attorney Joseph Bondy wrote on Twitter as he published a 23-second clip of Parnas alongside Pence and his wife.

The video, set to the song “September” by Earth, Wind and Fire, shows Parnas holding Karen Pence’s hand before she says something to him and pats him on the back. Parnas is seen extending his hand toward Pence, apparently waiting for a handshake.

Bondy provided no details about the context of the video but added a quote from European Union Ambassador Gordon Sondland’s testimony to Congress, in which he said that “everyone was in the loop” on the Ukraine scheme that led to President Donald Trump’s impeachment.

Joseph A. Bondy

@josephabondy

.@VP Mike Pence does indeed know the guy. “”Everyone was in the loop.“ -Gordon Sondland” -Lev Parnas #LevRemembers #LetLevSpeak #TheyAllKnew

Embedded video

As he urges Congress to allow Parnas to testify, Bondy has shared numerous videos, all set to catchy tunes, showing his client meeting with the president, as well as his family members, Cabinet officials and congressional allies.

Bondy published the video of Pence after the vice president denied knowing Parnas.

“I don’t know the guy,” Pence told reporters, calling Parnas’ claim that he was aware of the Ukraine scheme “completely false.”

Parnas, who was indicted on charges of illegally funneling foreign money to Republicans, told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow last week that Pence was aware of the effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden.

“I’m going to use a famous quote from [Ambassador Gordon] Sondland,” he said. “Everybody was in the loop.”

Parnas told Maddow that Pence canceled his scheduled trip to attend Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s inauguration after Parnas warned an aide of Zelensky that the vice president would not attend if an investigation into Biden was not announced.

“The announcement was the key at that time because of the inauguration, and I told him Pence would not show up, nobody would show up to his inauguration,” Parnas said. “It was particularly Vice President Mike Pence.”

Parnas claimed that Pence canceled the trip after Parnas spoke with Zelensky adviser Sergei Schaffer.

“It was after my phone call. The conversation that I laid out to Mr. Schafer was basically what I was told to do by Giuliani and the president,” Parnas said. “And then afterwards, I got back to them, saying he was going to get back to me later tonight.”

Parnas said that Schafer blocked his number on WhatsApp.

“I remember Rudy going, ‘OK. They’ll see.’ To my awareness, Trump called to say, ‘Make sure Pence doesn’t go [to the inauguration],'” Parnas told Maddow.

Asked if Pence canceled his trip because of the disagreement, Parnas replied, “It was, 100 percent. I know it was, 100 percent.”

Amee Vanderpool

@girlsreallyrule

Here is Lev Parnas confirming that Mike Pence knew exactly why his trip to Zelensky's inauguration was canceled and why Pence was going to Poland in place of Trump and was complicit in assisting with Trump's quid pro quo with Ukraine. #MaddowParnas

"Everybody was in the loop."

Embedded video

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham denied the allegation and called the former Giuliani associate who aided the shadow diplomacy effort in Ukraine a discredited witness.

“These allegations are being made by a man who is currently out on bail for federal crimes and is desperate to reduce his exposure to prison,” she said. “The facts haven’t changed: The president did nothing wrong and this impeachment, which was manufactured and carried out by the Democrats has been a sham from the start.”

But Jennifer Williams, Pence’s top adviser on Russia, testified to Congress that she was surprised when Pence’s trip to the inauguration was abruptly canceled and learned that the move was directed by Trump himself.

“My understanding from my colleague — and, again, I wasn’t there for the conversation — was that the president asked the vice president not to attend,” she testified.

Former Energy Secretary Rick Perry traveled to the inauguration in his stead.

Parnas told Maddow that Perry told Giuliani he would attend the inauguration and asked him what he should discuss with Zelensky. Perry told Giuliani that he got Zelensky to agree to publicly announce the investigations Giuliani had sought after the trip, Parnas claimed.

Parnas said Giuliani later “blew his lid” when Zelensky failed to mention the Bidens when he announced a wide-ranging corruption investigation.

“It wasn’t supposed to be a corruption announcement,” Parnas said. “It [had] to be about Joe Biden and Hunter Biden.”

Amee Vanderpool

@girlsreallyrule

Lev Parnas says Rick Perry played a role with Ukraine and that he and Giuliani communicated about the investigations Trump wanted and Perry was sent in to push Zelensky for the quid pro quo.

There is no doubt now that the Senate must call witnesses, including Giuliani and Perry.

Embedded video

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https://theconversation.com/american-influence-could-take-the-hit-as-putin-zelenskiy-try-to-make-peace-in-ukraine-127500

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bizzarely, lavrov white house visit on the day artls of impeachment, wh mtg denied ukraine prez

https://www.alternet.org/2019/12/it-couldnt-be-any-clearer-that-trump-serves-the-interests-of-the-kremlin/

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no lnx

Trump welcomed Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov to the White House to humiliate us all

White House

Written by Cody Fenwick December 11, 2019

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https://www.alternet.org/2019/11/how-the-election-of-zelensky-threatened-trumps-plan-to-exploit-corruption/

no lnx

How the firing of Marie Yovanovitch exposed a second layer to Trump’s Ukraine racket

PBS NewsHour

Written by Nancy LeTourneau / Washington Monthly November 15, 2019

Republicans have made a big deal out of the fact that a president has the right to fire an ambassador. During her testimony on Friday, Marie Yovanovitch agreed. She said,”I have always understood that I served at the pleasure of the President.” The issue under review is not the fact that Trump fired Yovanovitch. Rather, it is the reason he did so. As Yovanovitch’s testimony made clear, she became an obstacle to the president’s attempt to exploit corruption in Ukraine.

Here is how Yovanovitch described the situation in Ukraine.

It was— and remains—a top U.S. priority to help Ukraine fight corruption. Significant progress has been made since the 2014 Revolution of Dignity. Unfortunately, as the past couple of months have underlined, not all Ukrainians embraced our anti-corruption work. Thus, perhaps, it was not surprising, that when our anti-corruption efforts got in the way of a desire for profit or power, Ukrainians who preferred to play by the old, corrupt rules sought to remove me. What continues to amaze me is that they found Americans willing to partner with them and, working together, they apparently succeeded in orchestrating the removal of a U.S. Ambassador.

As George Kent said during Wednesday’s hearing, “You can’t promote principled anti-corruption action without pissing off corrupt people.” It’s clear that Ambassador Yovanovitch pissed off some corrupt people and they launched a smear campaign in order to get her fired.

We know that on the Ukrainian end, those people included two corrupt former prosecutors Viktor Shokin and Yuriy Lutsenko. It appears that the role of Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman was to connect people like that to Rudy Giuliani, as well as reporters like John Solomon. That’s the nexus between Yovanovitch and Trump’s attempt to bribe the Ukrainian government in order to get dirt on his political opponent. There were actually three groups of actors in this drama.

Trump wanted dirt on Joe Biden, as well as affirmation of his conspiracy theory about Ukraine interfering in the 2016 election to help Clinton.

Zelensky wanted U.S. support, both in the form of a White House meeting and military aid.

Corrupt Ukranians wanted to upend the anti-corruption efforts of career professionals like Yovanovitch.

The Ukrainians fed dirt on Yovanovitch to both Giuliani and Solomon, which eventually got her fired. At the same time, they dished out lies about the Bidens and the 2016 election, which Giuliani took back to Trump and Solomon published in his articles. Trump used those lies to pressure Zelensky into making a public statement about opening investigations into the Bidens and the 2016 election—holding out a White House meeting and military aid as the payoff. Everyone was going to get what they wanted, until the whistleblower exposed the whole racket.

That is why I nearly jumped out of my seat on Wednesday when Representative Jim Himes said that “President Trump wasn’t trying to end corruption in Ukraine, I think he was trying to aim corruption in Ukraine at Vice-President Biden and at the 2020 election.” There were actually two quid pro quos that were part of this whole deal. In addition to the one Trump was using against Zelensky, the corrupt prosecutors were willing to dish up dirt on the president’s political opponents in exchange for an end to U.S. anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine.

This is where Bill Taylor’s testimony about the two diplomatic channels that were at work in Ukraine—the regular and the irregular—comes into play. Amidst their efforts to get dirt on Trump’s political opponents, the irregular channel, led by Rudy Giuliani, was working to undermine the anti-corruption efforts of the regular channel. The smears against Yovanovich and her eventual firing were part of that effort.

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https://www.alternet.org/2019/11/a-telling-moment-from-the-impeachment-hearing-suggests-trump-has-an-insurance-policy-on-mike-pence/

no lnx

A telling moment from the impeachment hearing suggests Trump has an insurance policy on Mike Pence

President Donald J. Trump, joined by Vice President Mike Pence, addresses his remarks Monday, August 5, 2019, in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House on the mass shootings over the weekend in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)

Written by Amanda Marcotte / Salon November 14, 2019

Why don’t Republicans just give up and cut Donald Trump loose? That question has been on the minds of most political observers since the beginning of Trump’s presidency, and it’s only grown more intense in the wake of scandal after scandal after scandal, in which the lying, cheating, grifting, thieving sleazebag who bigoted his way into the White House continues to make fools of everyone who supports and defends him.

The mystery only deepened after the first day of public impeachment hearings on Wednesday, when the only answer Republicans had in the face of truly overwhelming evidence of Trump’s criminality was to issue a torrent of nihilistic nonsense that didn’t even try to make sense. While Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, seemed to be getting a Christian Bale-in-“American Psycho” sense of joy from all the lying, many other Republicans seemed confused, tired or flailing. Trump can wear out even the notoriously sturdy ability to lie that defines the modern Republican politician. It can’t feel great, constantly debasing themselves for a man who never shows gratitude but only keeps upping the ante, seeing how many more crimes he can commit that they’ll cover up.

The typical answer most pundits look to is this idea that Trump’s wild popularity with the almighty base protects him. Other elected Republicans are afraid that loyalty to Trump exceeds loyalty to the party, and they would lose any conflict between the two.

There’s reason to be skeptical of this view. As the blogger Atrios pointed out, Sarah Palin was once “treated as the most important voice in politics and now she is a trivia question,” and therefore “the GOP could drop their latest messiah and 5 minutes later no one would remember.” Truthfully, the same would happen if the Republicans decided, en masse, to kick Trump to the curb — their base would go along and many of them would probably also be quietly relieved to quit pretending that Trump is a voice worthy of respect.

But there’s a strong alternative explanation: Republicans have good reason to fear that if Trump goes down, he’s taking Vice President Mike Pence with him. If that happens, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who is third in line under the Constitution, would become president. Republicans may be genuinely worried that they can’t toss Trump to the curb without losing the White House entirely.

That might initially sound odd, since Pence’s name has come up only rarely in the discussion of the Ukraine scandal. He was barely mentioned during the many hours of testimony from Ambassador Bill Taylor and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent on Wednesday. But even though that mention of Pence was brief, if one reads between the lines a bit, it was also illuminating.

In his opening statement, Taylor said that on Sept. 1, Trump suddenly canceled a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, claiming Hurrican Dorian as an excuse. (In reality, Trump played golf.) In his stead, Trump sent Pence. Taylor, who received a readout of the meeting, says that Zelensky asked right away about the military aid that Trump was withholding — aid that Trump was clearly using as leverage to extort Zelensky to back up Trump’s conspiracy theory about his presumed Democratic 2020 opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden.

Pence “did not respond substantively,” Taylor recounted, but did say that Trump “wanted the Ukrainians to do more to fight corruption.”

To the average observer, that language sounds bland and unimportant. But those who have been following this scandal closely know that “fighting corruption” was Trump’s code phrase for opening up phony investigations to damage his political enemies and bolster right-wing conspiracy theories.” We know Trump doesn’t actually want to fight corruption, because his actual behavior and associations in Ukraine indicates a general pro-corruption point of view — and also because of common sense. We also know that while Pence might not be the sharpest pencil in the drawer, he is probably smart enough to know that “fighting corruption” was Trumpian code for “do this corrupt thing for me, or else.”

Trump’s last-minute delegation of this task to Pence has been understood as part of his larger campaign to intimidate Zelensky into doing his bidding. But it might also have served another function: To implicate Pence in the extortion scheme against Ukraine. This was right when Trump and his co-conspirators, mainly his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, were starting to sweat about getting caught. A whistleblower complaint had been filed just a couple weeks before, and career diplomats and security officials were starting to make internal complaints about the situation. No doubt Trump’s mind was very fixated on CYA at that point.

While the average viewer might not pick up these implications, Republicans in Congress watching the proceedings certainly would. Knowing that Pence toed the Trumpian line by responding to requests for aid with coded language about “fighting corruption” — language we know Zelensky understood, at this point, to mean “spread conspiracy theories about Biden” — means that Pence is implicated.

So far, Pence has avoided much scrutiny, but as Republicans are no doubt aware, Trump has no morals, no loyalty and no limits. If he senses he’s going down, there is no reason to believe he will hesitate to expose Pence’s role in this, in hopes of taking his sanctimonious veep down the slippery slide with him. Republicans have to know there’s a not-small chance that if they admit that Trump committed an impeachable offense and remove him from office, they then might face an impeachment trial for Pence too, and the prospect of a President Pelosi. (Along with a mad scramble to find someone to nominate for the 2020 presidential election.)

So they’re stuck with the guy they’ve got, who is a cunning enough criminal to know how to protect himself with his posse of lackeys, even if he’s bad at hiding incriminating evidence. Also, standing by Trump makes clear how much Republicans are sacrificing the long-term viability of their party to protect their power in the short term.

After all, while the almighty base that supports Republicans and Trump is immovable for now — drunk on Fox News propaganda, and unwilling to engage any evidence that shakes them from their GOP faith — they are also, like all human beings, mortal. (And, on average, a lot older than other voters.) There’s little reason to believe that that thisnihilistic circus act being put on by Republicans will attract the newer, younger voters the party needs for its long-term health.

Republicans themselves see this, which is why they’ve focused so heavily on winding down the idea of democracy, by packing the courts and gerrymandering the voting map so that no matter how many more votes Democrats get, they never win full power. It may very well work. But the fact that they have completely abandoned any pretense of trying to argue their point and persuade voters, as the first day of impeachment hearings showed, is remarkable in itself. And if Republicans had any lingering hope that they could stanch the bleeding by replacing Trump with Pence, that seems to have gone up in smoke.

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https://www.rawstory.com/2019/11/impeachment-probe-looking-into-mulvaney-involvement-with-ukraine-before-trump-phone-call-report/

according to a report at the Daily Beast, Democrats are asking questions about acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney’s curious decision to hold up a weapons shipment to Ukraine before Donald Trump’s phone call with President Zelensky.

:{:{}:

The report notes that Mulvaney, in his other job as head of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), held up the sale of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine even after the Trump administration had approved the sale...

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