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?”
Voting rights, commentary on briefing.center
“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.
Also in the news since we last chatted
Deadly firefight exposes Blackwater founder Erik Prince’s new shadow war in Congo
Britain faces ‘new era’ of security threats from Iran and Russia, MI5 chief says
Mahmoud Abbas postpones Palestinian legislative elections until 2027
U.S. imposes new sanctions on International Criminal Court as part of its effort to dismantle the tribunal
South Africa-born jurist Navi Pillay wins Nobel Peace Prize for her work in international justice
NYTimes: How David Milstein, top aide to U.S. ambassador to Israel, suppressed and altered reports critical of Israel
Kimberly Guilfoyle’s final days as ambassador to Greece
Trump administration cuts the time refugees have to contest termination of their status
Justice Department issues subpoenas in immigration investigation of Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar
Treasury Department fines Bank of America $1.2 billion, saying it violated money laundering, sanctions laws
Federal judge extends order blocking Trump from banning CNN, MS NOW, Politico reporters from White House
Judge orders immediate stop to taxpayer-funded pro-Trump ads
Trump adds new giveaway to his midterm-election rewards pitch: pardons
Lisa Cook challenges Trump’s latest effort to remove her from role as a Federal Reserve governor
Federal judge rules DOJ can’t request states’ voter lists for eligibility database
Many GOP states have imposed new voting rules this year, some mirroring Trump proposals
Montana voters to decide whether to mandate nonpartisan elections and to choose between 2 officially nonpartisan candidates for state Supreme Court
NYTimes: Eight election experts ‘reflect some confidence that the election will be fine — with caveats’
Robert Reich writes first edition of ‘How We Win,’ a Guardian opinion series on America’s future
Tracking the early vote in the midterm elections
Elon Musk’s $276 million midterm rescue mission for Republicans
Supreme Court agrees to hear watchdog lawsuit seeking records on Musk’s DOGE
WPost analysis: Many former DOGE staffers have leveraged their government experience to boost private-sector ambitions
Prediction-market wagers on jury cases raise ethical concerns and insider-trading risks for justice system
Notable events in AI safety since the attack on Hugging Face
Canada poet Anne Carson awarded Nobel Prize in literature
Takeaways from AP report on the Alaska pollock fishery, the second-largest fishery on Earth
Cost of drugs from Canada to soar for millions of Americans because of federal rule
RFK Jr. plans federal vaccine injury initiative; many vaccine experts are wary of his motivations
KFF: AI, tech leaders are lobbying Trump health officials in government-run chat room
KFF: People say these peptides harmed them, but their stories are muffled in MAHA push for medical freedom
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