The ambush in the Oval Office

It always takes me a little time to absorb the events of the day before adding new commentary. There’s no question, Friday’s events took some absorbing for sure.

I’ve watched the entire clip of the ‘Ambush in the Oval’ a few times and it is beyond doubt, it was a staged event in which it had been decided, the best leverage could be had by publicly humiliating Zelensky in front of the world’s media.

Once you take a closer look at the staging, it becomes very clear who this event was being staged for. Among the hand-picked pool of reporters for the Oval Office presser, was an interesting addition. A correspondent for TASS, the Russian state media organization. It’s worthy of note that AP and Reuters were deliberately excluded. The White House later claimed this was an error and the reporter was eventually asked to leave.

In addition, there was a plant in the room. The boyfriend of Marjorie Taylor Green, Brian Glenn. He reports for fringe conservative site ‘Real America's Voice’. This was the guy who asked Zelensky "Why don't you wear a suit? You're the highest level in this country's office, and you refuse to wear a suit”, adding “Do you own a suit”

JD Vance openly laughed as the question was posed. Zelenskyy’s polite response? "I will wear a suit after this war is over. Maybe something like yours. Maybe better." It was a vacuous question asked in order to tee up Vance for his disgusting demand that Zelenskyy show gratitude to the man who had run a campaign on not providing a cent in military aid to Ukraine.

The current Kremlin talking points are that Zelenskyy should step down. We saw this being echoed by the likes of Lyndsay Graham and other right wing talking heads. Effectively, the hard right is doing the bidding of the Kremlin propaganda machine, in an attempt to do what Russia has not been able to do since day one of the invasion. Remove Zelenskyy from the chess board.

In addition, they’re running a bogus impeachment narrative, using the line “Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Dubinsky just called for an Emergency Session of Ukraine’s Parliament to initiate IMPEACHMENT” For context, Dubinsky is a suspect in a number of criminal cases related to corruption and treason.

He was charged with document forgery in August 2023 after he allegedly travelled abroad under a false pretext.

In addition, the US had sanctioned him in 2021, alleging ties to a Russian influence network and interference in the 2020 US election. I think it safe to say, he is of dubious character. This impeachment narrative is already on this platform being circulated by MAGA accounts.

As they say, "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes".

Replacing Zelenskyy is now a top priority for the Kremlin. Therefore, it’s a top priority for the U.S. administration. Think about that for a moment and let it sink in. Trump allies are now actively using Kremlin talking points to unseat the Democratically elected president of a sovereign nation. Sound familiar?

Zelenskyy is clearly exhausted. This is a man whose country is under siege not only from Russian aggression, but from a proxy Russian campaign run from inside the White House, to undermine his authority. The pressure must be off the chart.

Let’s be clear, all Zelenskyy did was stand up for his people against an international criminal extortion gang, attempting to strip an ally of its mineral rights. I have said all week he should not sign the agreement and he was right not to do so.

Now the real challenge begins. The good news for Zelenskyy is, he is now among friends as he found when he landed in London last night.