Three weeks after signing the law that locked Russia's sanctions into place, President Trump let Putin sell diesel again, and Congress never saw the certifications the law requires. Senator Adam Schiff warned we went from sanctioning Russian oil to buying it, and President Zelenskyy warned that gifts to Putin bring no peace and Russia will repay this diesel with further terror and perfidy.
Congress built clear rules for this exact moment, so call your representative and both senators today and demand they enforce them.
What Happened Friday
On Friday afternoon, President Trump announced he had wrapped up a "highly successful discussion" with Vladimir Putin (aka Putin played him again). Within hours, the Treasury Department cleared the way for Russian diesel to flow into world markets, including the United States, until April 7, 2027.
Trump said Russia would ship 300,000 tons right away, 500,000 more in November, 1 million after that, and 3 million more depending on the shape of its damaged refineries, which adds up to 4.8 million tons of fuel from a country still waging war on its neighbor. Experts doubt the numbers. Former American officials say nobody knows whether Putin even has that much diesel to sell.
It’s also noted that the U.S. Treasury's permission slip, the one called General License 135, sets no price limit of any kind. It runs six months, the longest diesel break Russia has received since its full invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Reports conflict over whether it covers only fuel already loaded on tankers Friday.
Putin Named His Price First
Here is the backstory you need. Russia normally ranks as the second biggest diesel exporter on the planet. After Ukrainian drones kept slamming its refineries, Russia shut down its own diesel exports in July and kept that ban running through October. On September 25, the Kremlin's spokesman told the world that Russian diesel would hit global markets again only after countries dropped their sanctions.
Fourteen days later, Washington gave him exactly what he asked for. Every gallon sold sends money back to Moscow, the same money that buys the missiles and drones raining down on Ukrainian apartment buildings, and a former top American diplomat warned about that very thing on Friday. Putin asked. Trump delivered.
Congress Already Wrote the Rules
In 2022, Congress passed a law banning Russian energy imports, and that law spells out one exit. The President must give lawmakers 45 days of notice and then certify in writing that Russia has agreed to pull its troops out. Congress then gets a vote to reject it.
None of that happened.
Here’s a few clips of TACO Trump and his thoughts on buying oil from Russia.
Here’s the deal. When a President acts against what Congress has clearly written into law, his power sits at its weakest point, a rule the Supreme Court laid down in 1952 when it stopped President Truman from seizing the nation's steel mills during the Korean War. A Treasury permission slip is paperwork, and paperwork never outranks a law passed by Congress.
Three Weeks Old and Already Sidestepped
On September 18, Trump signed the Lindsey Graham sanctions law. The vote the Senate gave it was 86 to 11; the House, 262 to 159. It locked every Russia sanction since the invasion into federal law, and anyone reading it will see that before loosening those sanctions, the President must first hand Congress a written finding and an explanation of why. He also has about thirty days, ending around October 18, to impose most of the new penalties. Senator Richard Blumenthal, who cowrote the law, called Friday's deal "a stain on our nation's character."
A 2017 law adds one more lock. It requires the President to notify Congress before issuing any license that significantly changes America's Russia policy, then wait up to sixty days while lawmakers decide. This license took effect instantly. Six months of open diesel trade with Russia, announced right after a phone call with Putin, changes our Russia policy in a way any honest reader recognizes, and Congress deserves to see the paperwork.
Our Allies Hold the Line
Russia's invasion broke the United Nations Charter, and 141 nations condemned it in March 2022. Europe and Britain keep their diesel sanctions fully in force. Ukraine's President Zelensky called Friday's move "an obvious weakness," and he is right.
Why I Won't Call It Treason
Some viral posts call this treason. I’ve always been straight with you. Trump’s decision is bad national and global policy, but it’s not treason.
The Constitution defines treason as waging war against America or helping its enemies, and the Supreme Court has long insisted on reading that clause narrowly, which means an enemy is a nation in open war with the United States. Russia does not qualify.
Trump’s been sabotaging Zelenskyy since starting his second term in office. Now, he’s throwing the Ukrainian president under the bus. Trump’s a horrible human being and the sooner he’s gone the better our country and the world will be.
Impeachment follows its own standard. Alexander Hamilton described impeachable offenses as abuses of the public trust, and the House decides whether ignoring Congress's sanctions laws crosses that line.
Your Move
Call your representative and both senators today, ask whether the administration filed the written certifications these laws require before it opened the door to Putin's diesel, and demand answers before October 18. Here’s the number: (202) 224-3121.
Remind them that Congress built these safeguards on purpose and the people you elected owe you the courage to enforce them.
Mitch Jackson, Esq.
Your support by subscribing, sharing, commenting and upgrading to paid means the world to me. I’m going to keep at it until we fix these problems once and for all.
Look at the video to see what a traitor looks like.
Keep writing, Mitch. You are providing a valuable service to freedom loving people across this country. Granted, if people back then were paying attention, and they rarely do, it may have been prevented. Same thing today. The signs are everywhere. Keep spreading the word. We will prevail against Fascism.
Recommended:
“End Times Fascism” by Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor
“How Fascism Works” by Jason Stanley
“On Fascism: 12 Lessons from American History” by Matthew MacWilliams
“On Freedom” by Timothy Snyder
“Regime Change” by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan
“Strongmen” by Ruth Ben-Ghiat
“The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump” by Bandy X. Lee, M.D., M.Div