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Senator Jeff Merkley walked into the hearing room like a man who’d just been told his car got keyed and knew exactly who did it. On the other side of the table sat Christopher Landau, Trump’s nominee for Ambassador to Mexico, who looked like he hadn’t slept since Inauguration Day, and Matthew Whitaker, a former acting Attorney General who carries himself like a guy who still brags about his high school bench press record.
The setup was simple: Merkley had questions, and Landau and Whitaker had excuses — weak, sweaty excuses that couldn’t outrun a three-legged dog.
It didn’t take long for the whole thing to unravel. Merkley started calmly, like a guy setting mousetraps in a room full of blindfolded rats. Then the hammer dropped.
Senator Jeff Merkley: "I wanted to, uh... uh... ask you, Mr. Landau — is President Trump a Russian asset?"
That's how Merkley started — no warmup, no warning. Just kicked the door open and asked the question nobody else had the nerve to say out loud.
Mr. Landau: "Absolutely not, Senator. He's the President of the United States, duly elected by the American people."
Landau might as well have answered, "Please don't ask me anything else." Merkley wasn’t about to let him off that easy.
Senator Merkley: "Well, the reason I ask is many people back home have been asking me this question. And they say, 'If he was an asset, we would see exactly what he's doing now.'"
It’s the kind of thing that sounds conspiratorial until you start listing the evidence. And that’s exactly what Merkley did.
Senator Merkley: "For example... he proceeded to forward — or express from the Oval Office — propaganda that has been Russian propaganda... that Ukraine started the war... that, uh... Zelensky is a dictator."
Step one: repeat Kremlin talking points like they’re gospel.
Senator Merkley: "Second of all... he gave away key things on the negotiating table before the negotiations even started, ensuring the U.S. would absolutely oppose, um... any possibility of NATO membership for Ukraine."
That’s like showing up to a poker game and tossing your entire stack of chips across the table before the first card’s dealt.
Senator Merkley: "Uh... third... he's cut off the arms shipments to Ukraine completely — undermining their ability against a massive neighbor next door with short supply lines and... and huge resources."
Pause here and picture Vladimir Putin popping champagne.
Senator Merkley: "Fourth... he's undermined the partnership with Europe, which has been essential to security over the last 80 years — a major goal of Putin’s."
At this point, Merkley wasn’t describing bad policy — he was reading Putin’s wish list.
Senator Merkley: "And then... he's done everything to discredit and demean Zelensky on the international stage — notably with that shameful press conference in which he teamed up with the Vice President to attack Zelensky."
Ah yes, that infamous JD Vance press conference — the diplomatic equivalent of shoving Zelensky’s head in a toilet while Putin watched from the corner clapping like a seal.
Senator Merkley: "I can't imagine that if he was a Russian asset, he could be doing anything more favorable than these five points."
Boom. Merkley didn’t need to say “traitor” — he just pointed at the scoreboard.
Senator Merkley: "Uh... what else could a Russian asset actually possibly do that Trump hasn't yet done?"
What else, indeed? The room was dead silent — the kind of pause where you can hear chairs creak and paper shuffle.
Landau tried to squirm out.
Mr. Landau: "Senator, the President has made it absolutely clear that his top priority is to try to bring peace and end an absolutely savage war. I... I know you're familiar with the, uh... the... the savagery. This is turning into World War I-style trench warfare now in eastern Ukraine."
Translation: I have nothing, so let me ramble until you forget what you asked.
Mr. Landau: "The President is an exceptionally gifted dealmaker. He is probably the only individual in the entire universe that could actually stop this."
The entire universe. Not just Earth — the universe. Apparently Trump’s cutting side deals with Alpha Centauri now.
Senator Merkley: "Well, let's turn to another — thank you very much, since you're now off the topic I was raising."
That’s polite for “You're embarrassing yourself — let’s try someone else.”
Merkley turned to Whitaker.
Senator Merkley: "Mr. Whitaker, these five things that the President has done that are so favorable to Putin and so damaging to Ukraine and to our partnership with Europe... do you approve of them?"
Whitaker tried the old “blame Biden” routine.
Mr. Whitaker: "Well, Senator, thanks for that question. I'm just going to have to, uh... politely disagree with you, uh... on those five things and the way you've framed them."
"You know... the war in Ukraine would have never happened if President Trump was president in 2022. The war in Ukraine happened because of Joe Biden’s weakness."
Merkley didn’t flinch.
Senator Merkley: "Well, maybe you could some other time go on television and express those points of view, but... do you mind just answering the question I asked?"
And that’s where Whitaker realized he’d stepped into the bear trap.
Senator Merkley: "Do you agree with the five things that President Trump has done — starting with him expressing Russian propaganda from the Oval Office?"
Mr. Whitaker: "Well, you know... again, as I mentioned to your colleague, I am not here to assign labels. We're in the middle of a very, uh... important peace negotiation."
Senator Merkley: "I agree. Thank you. Uh... I... I do hope that we have an Administration that works to get the very best deal for Ukraine.
"But what a Russian asset would do would be to work to get the very best deal for Russia — and that appears to be exactly what Donald Trump is trying to accomplish."
Merkley didn’t shout. He didn’t wave his arms. He just said it — clear as glass — and let the silence hang heavy in the room.
Landau and Whitaker sat there like a couple of guys who’d just realized their GPS was guiding them into a lake.
If Trump isn’t a Russian asset, he’s sure putting in the effort to look like one.
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