this post was submitted on 26 Nov 2025

420 points (99.3% liked)

News

34030 readers

3772 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil

Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.

2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.

Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.

3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.

Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.

4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.

Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.

5. Only recent news is allowed.

Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.

6. All posts must be news articles.

No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.

7. No duplicate posts.

If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.

8. Misinformation is prohibited.

Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.

9. No link shorteners.

The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.

10. Don't copy entire article in your post body

For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

JonsJava@lemmy.world

gedaliyah@lemmy.world

little_cow@lemmy.world

420

‘Traitor’: US representatives call for Trump envoy Witkoff to be fired after leaked Kremlin call (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 1 month ago by nulluser@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

24 comments fedilink hide all child comments

A handful of US representatives have reacted furiously to a leaked recording in which the special envoy to Ukraine reportedly coached Moscow on how to handle Donald Trump, but most have so far remained mute on the revelation that American officials were advising a US adversary.

Don Bacon, a Republican representative, called for Steve Witkoff’s immediate dismissal. “For those who oppose the Russian invasion and want to see Ukraine prevail as a sovereign & democratic country, it is clear that Witkoff fully favors the Russians,” the Nebraska lawmaker wrote on X.

“He cannot be trusted to lead these negotiations. Would a Russian paid agent do less than he? He should be fired.”

Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican wrote that the leak represented “a major problem” and “one of the many reasons why these ridiculous side shows and secret meetings need to stop”. He urged that the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, be allowed to “do his job in a fair and objective manner”.

Democratic representative Ted Lieu went further, calling Witkoff an “actual traitor,” and adding: “Steve Witkoff is supposed to work for the United States, not Russia.”

all 26 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] nulluser@lemmy.world 86 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Trump defended Witkoff on Tuesday night. “That’s what a dealmaker does. You’ve got to say look, they want this, you’ve got to convince them of this,” Trump said while onboard Air Force One. “That’s a very standard form of negotiation.” He added that he imagined Witkoff “is saying the same thing to Ukraine”.

That's not negotiation! That's not deal making! That's outright capitulation to the aggressor in a war that should never have been started.

You’ve got to say look, they want this, you’ve got to convince them of this

But that's not what he was saying. He was coaching them on how to convince YOU, Mr. Trump, on how to manipulate YOU, Mr Trump, to get you to help them to get everything they want.

[–] kelpie_returns@lemmy.world 20 points 1 month ago

If potus could read I bet he'd find this comment baffling and deeply upsetting...until anything else is said and he forgets this altogether ofc. This country is 🍳

[–] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

When the car dealer is telling you that they're going to try to convince their manager to accept your deal, you know they're not actually fighting for you right?

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Are they "coaching" their boss? Is that your argument?

[–] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 month ago

No, they're both working you.

"Listen, if it were up to me I'd give you the car for free! But it's my boss whose being a pain. Here's what you need to do to convince him...."

It's standard "I'm pretending to be on your side against my boss" stuff any car buyer has dealt with.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

That’s not negotiation! That’s not deal making!

It is. Just not in your interest. Might be worth asking what Trump thinks he's getting out of it. Did someone at a Russian bank just pick up another $50M in Trumpcoin recently? How will a brokered peace enrich Trump's family and friends?

The US isn't Ukraine and Trump isn't capitulating to an enemy, he's carving up Ukrainian territory alongside an erstwhile ally. He's making deals, he's just not on your side of the board.

He was coaching them on how to convince YOU, Mr. Trump, on how to manipulate YOU

He's an agent of the Trump administration selling a deal brokered by Russia to his boss, presumably by promising the kind of quid pro quo Trump would endorse.

What's notable is how sloppy and slapdash the dealmaking was for the benefit of the public at-large. Trump's team might have gotten out cleaner if the authors of the deal hadn't just chucked it through Babblefish to get an English translation.

[–] BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world 44 points 1 month ago (4 children)

What is the penalty for actual, Constitutionally defined treason? Getting fired in that context does not mean merely losing your job.

[–] Randomgal@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 month ago

Can't have constitutional treason if you don't follow the law.

[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 month ago

A cushy job in the private sector.

[–] Lemminary@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It should be death. At least, I hope it is.

[–] Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I believe it is death only in time of war.

[–] Nastybutler@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It's the US. We're always at war with someone. Right now it's Venezuela

[–] REDACTED 4 points 1 month ago

Russia has also repeatedly said they're at war with NATO, and the entire 28-point plan revolves around US being forced to give industry help and secrets to Russia, stop NATO expansion and give money to Russia. Pretty clear Russia is at hybrid war with US and US is surrendering

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 month ago

actual, Constitutionally defined treason?

The kind where you actually have to be in a state of war with another country? A war that was legally declared by the US congress? Since the last time the US declared war was during WWII, and every enemy country in that war was defeated, I don't think "actual, Constitutionally defined treason" is possible today.

[–] njm1314@lemmy.world 30 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Trump said while onboard Air Force One. “That’s a very standard form of negotiation.” He added that he imagined Witkoff “is saying the same thing to Ukraine”.

He imagines? He doesn't know what his personal negotiator is saying? That's enlightening.

[–] Kirp123@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago (2 children)

You think Trump is actually working? He just lets his goons do whatever and if they do good he just claims their achievements. He's way too busy with interior design at the White House, golfing, napping and watching Fox News to actually check up on them.

[–] Lemminary@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

I'm sure he does all these things, but I wouldn't be surprised if these were the only things he was actually involved in, if only because they seem important to him based on his brand as the master negotiator, and it's a great opportunity to stroke his ego by scoring a few proxy victories.

[–] nickiwest@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Don't forget hate-watching the late-night shows.

[–] blacklisted@lemmy.org 23 points 1 month ago

Fired? How about indicted?

[–] mrdown@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago

He should hsvr been fired since he leaked discudsion about Yemen

[–] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 month ago

A handful of US representatives have reacted furiously to a leaked recording in which the special envoy to Ukraine reportedly coached Moscow on how to handle Donald Trump,

Only a handful?

Wtf??

This government shows their incompetence more and more as each day passes.

[–] Gammelfisch@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago

There are plenty of US politicians working for fucking Moscow and it starts at the very top.

[–] DaddleDew@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

He was sent by someone to do this. No wonder Trump is defending him. He know if they throw him under the bus he might talk.

[–] TheMinister@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 month ago

Horrendous, another in a long list of trump-Russia weirdness. There’s like no doubt there are a lot of republicans in bed with Russia, right? Insane.

All that said…

During the conversation, Ushakov said Putin would congratulate Trump and call him “a real peace man”.

The incredibly low bar to manipulate trump. “A real peace man?” It’s like, did they dumb down that language for Putins sake, or for trumps? The fact that you can’t tell is fucking telling.