Vice President JD Vance is pushing back hard against Politico after the outlet published a report criticizing Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy for peace negotiations in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The article, authored by Felicia Schwartz, claimed Witkoff struggled to manage his role due to inexperience and a “go-it-alone” approach. It cited multiple anonymous officials who accused him of ignoring experts, being unprepared, and framing the conflict as if it were a real estate dispute.
Vance: “Journalistic Malpractice”
Vance took to X shortly after the report’s release, accusing Politico of running a politically motivated hit piece.
“This story from Politico is journalistic malpractice,” Vance wrote. “But it’s more than that: it’s a foreign influence operation meant to hurt the administration and one of our most effective members.”
He criticized the reliance on anonymous sources, saying the piece ignored public statements by senior officials — including himself, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, adviser Jared Kushner, and UK diplomat Jonathan Powell — who have defended Witkoff.
Vance singled out Schwartz, suggesting she was either being manipulated by hostile sources or willingly complicit.
“They have an agenda to blow up the president’s efforts to make peace, and they saw her as a useful vessel to launder garbage into the conversation, truth be damned,” he wrote.
“There are two possible explanations: Felicia is just not very smart, and allowed herself to be used by deep state con men. Or she’s in on it … Either way, it’s disgraceful.”
The vice president praised Witkoff as “an invaluable member of our team,” insisting he accurately conveyed Russian positions and helped narrow outstanding issues to security guarantees and territorial concessions.
“Maybe we make peace, and maybe we don’t. If we do, it will be because Steve Witkoff and the President of the United States worked their tails off, in the face of outright lies from the mainstream press,” Vance said.
As of Friday evening, Schwartz had not publicly responded to Vance’s accusations.
