WASHINGTON: The White House lashed out Friday what it called a “foreign influence operation” by German-owned US news outlet Politico after it criticized President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff’s Ukraine negotiations.
Vice President JD Vance slammed Politico, bought in 2021 by German media giant Axel Springer, over an article that quoted unnamed officials as saying Witkoff’s “inexperience shines through” in his talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
“This story from Politico is journalistic malpractice. But it’s more than that: it’s a foreign influence operation meant to hurt the administration and one of our most effective members,” Vance said on X.
A string of other White House officials made similar attacks, with Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair calling the article a “foreign influence operation run through a German-controlled online media outlet.”
The officials did not offer evidence of any foreign party or government behind the story.
