Trump’s diesel deal with Putin
The president’s announcement on Friday that he’d reached an agreement with Russian President Putin to immediately supply diesel fuel to the U.S. and global marketplace was followed minutes later by a Treasury Department announcement lifting sanctions on Russian diesel exports.
European and British officials were “stunned” by Trump’s unexpected announcement, and Ukraine President Zelensky called it “a gift” to Putin, says The New York Times.
Most of the ownership in the deal would go to a group of Middle East investors, including some with business ties to key U.S. officials involved in the negotiations, reports a separate Times article.
The deal is being criticized by both Republicans and Democrats in Congress as fueling Russia’s war against Ukraine, violating existing U.S. laws and drawing the United States closer to Russia, says The Associated Press.
And it joins a growing list of instances in which Trump has sided with Putin, often at the expense of Ukraine — and America’s own standing, says AP.
Putin is reaping his victories as Trump’s own domestic political needs align with his longstanding inclination to tip the scales toward Russia, says a Times analysis. “With the American president focused on trying to bring down fuel prices before a difficult midterm election, he is pushing Kyiv to trade away its leverage for nothing in return.”
This looks, says Anne Applebaum of The Atlantic, like a “Hail Mary attempt to force Ukraine to surrender and to save the Russian economy, perhaps in order to finally complete the multiple business deals that the Russians are known to have discussed with American negotiators and others in Trump’s orbit. These include deals involving the Nord Stream gas pipelines, mineral mining in the Arctic, the Russian assets frozen in European banks, and more.”
Heather Cox Richardson says, “How much more evidence is necessary to assess that Trump has undermined U.S. national security and is working for Russia?”
“The vote is precious. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democratic society, and we must use it.” — late Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., civil rights activist
Here are regularly updated voting rights resources for the November midterm elections, on John Dineen’s briefing.center website. And here is John’s daily quick commentary on his briefing.center home page.
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You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer
Senate Majority Leader John Thune