Overview

• Politico published a report citing about 13 U.S. and foreign officials, many anonymous, who questioned envoy Steve Witkoff’s experience and solo approach to Russia‑Ukraine talks.
• Vice President J.D. Vance called the story “journalistic malpractice” and a “foreign influence operation,” alleging it omitted on‑the‑record defenses from senior officials including himself.
• Other Trump administration allies, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Donald Trump Jr., publicly backed Witkoff, while White House figures echoed the foreign‑influence accusation without offering evidence.
• Witkoff continued his outreach, meeting Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak in New York, after multiple recent trips to Moscow as Trump’s principal interlocutor with Vladimir Putin.
• Following Vance’s post, Politico reporter Felicia Schwartz faced a wave of online abuse, and debate intensified over the accuracy of Witkoff’s claims and the lack of a scheduled Putin–Zelensky meeting.