Trump Team Tries to Bully People Into Buying Russian Oil

President Donald Trump gave Russian President Vladimir Putin a huge handout by waiving restrictions on Russian fuel. It’s too bad U.S. firms don’t actually want to buy it!

The Washington Sun reported Thursday that American companies are concerned that accepting shipments of Russian diesel fuel set to arrive in the United States after the midterm elections will leave them vulnerable to reputational and legal risks. Trump administration officials have been privately encouraging American companies to get over it.

In a last-ditch attempt to alleviate financial strain ahead of the midterm elections, the Trump administration announced earlier this month that the U.S. would temporarily waive sanctions on Russian diesel sold to the global market through April 2027. Trump claimed that Russia would “immediately” supply more than roughly 2.2 million barrels of diesel fuel to the American and global marketplaces—a small drop in the bucket against the sweeping diesel shortage.

Multiple sources told the Sun that the Russian diesel cargoes did not have any confirmed buyers when they were loaded onto the tankers in mid-October. One industry analyst told the outlet that the cargoes had been “shopped” for weeks, but U.S. firms hadn’t been interested.

“They’re being very strongly encouraged by both Moscow and Washington to take these cargoes, including with steep discounts, but they’re encountering a wall of resistance based on reputation and legal risks,” another industry analyst told the Sun.

It’s still not clear whether the diesel will even land in the United States. New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill is looking for ways to prevent the potential arrival of Russian tankers. “Make no mistake: Trump’s diesel deal with Putin is corrupt and illegal, and I am evaluating options to stop it from arriving at a port in New Jersey,” Sherrill told the Sun in a statement. She accused Trump of “lining Vladimir Putin’s pockets at the expense of American consumers and our democratic ally Ukraine.”

Rapidan Energy Group told its clients: “Moscow and Washington are still scrambling to find takers, but we wouldn’t be surprised if the cargoes ultimately head to Brazil.”

Doom and gloom has enveloped the White House, just days out from Election Day.

Donald Trump has reportedly shrunk his inner circle to just a smattering of trusted loyalists, including Federal Housing Director Bill Pulte and Trump’s beloved executive assistant, “human printer” Natalie Harp, according to 16 current and former administration officials and Trump allies that spoke with The New York Times.

Harp, for one, has moved into a private dining room adjacent to the Oval Office, while Pulte has redirected his attention toward creating artificial intelligence–generated images and mock posters for the president’s social media feeds.

Trump is primarily consuming “fawning press coverage, disparaging clips about his perceived enemies, and helpings of flattering photos and ‘AI slop,’ as one official put it,” the Times reported.

But anxiety has permeated the rest of the executive branch. Insiders likened the current climate to Trump’s first term, which was constantly shaken by staff turnover, legislative dread, and the president’s explosive tantrums.

Despite his floundering popularity, Trump has chosen to place himself at the epicenter of the midterms, effectively making the 2026 election another referendum on his position atop the Republican Party. But with just days on the clock until voters cast their ballots, Trump is reportedly spending his downtime complaining about the decision, lamenting how much effort he’s had to put in, according to the Times.

The ground is shifting as Trump and his allies look for a potential midterm scapegoat, should Republicans suffer major losses next week. Even Trump’s most stalwart supporters are at risk of losing their heads: Earlier this month, rumors circulated that White House chief of staff Susie Wiles could face the axe.

But staffing issues and midterm jitters aren’t the only line items souring the mood in the West Wing. Negative news coverage of his administration is still making Trump nuts. Over the weekend, Trump tuned in to Bill Maher’s show to watch his sit-down interview with former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. But Maher’s barbs must have gotten through Trump’s thin skin, as they incited a scathing 1,300-word social media post in response. Trump declared online that Maher was a “COMPLETE AND TOTAL LOSER,” and harangued the late-night comedian for daring to question his attempts to curtail California’s voting process.

“You’re not transformative, you’re a Loser! I never watched your show much, but I will never watch it again,” Trump wrote Sunday evening.

President Trump’s massive $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC is on the brink of collapse, as he has failed to provide Magistrate Judge Enjolique Lett with the proper documents required by discovery.

“Failure to comply with this order may result in sanctions, including but not limited to, dismissal of this action for failure to prosecute this case,” Lett wrote in the court order.

Trump has until November 23 to hand over the relevant documents or risk having his case dismissed. Additionally, in the absence of a register identifying documents withheld due to claims of privilege, Trump must compile a list by November 5.

Trump’s suit, filed last year, is over a 2024 episode of Panorama titled “Trump, a Second Chance.” Trump claims the episode was defamatory because it edited together two sections of his speech on January 6, 2021, highlighting his line calling on his supporters to “fight like hell,” while omitting a section in which he told them to peacefully protest. But by suing the British Broadcasting Corporation, he’s exposed himself and his inner circle to the discovery process.

Trump has had issues with his own lawsuit ever since it was filed. Last week, Lett ordered that he sit for a deposition by December 11. Trump was also ordered to fork over his financial records back in July, which the BBC’s lawyers requested to determine whether Trump was actually harmed by its lawsuit. Lett also allowed the BBC to subpoena Trump’s closest advisers and confidants—including his family members, Stephen Miller, and Steve Bannon—to make the case on what Trump’s actual goals were on January 6.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired Army Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This makes him at least the twenty-sixth senior military official to be ousted by Hegseth this year.

“The Chairman, the Joint Staff, and the Joint Force extend our deepest gratitude to Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia and his family for their 32 years of distinguished service to our nation,” a spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement to The Atlantic, which first reported the news. “We wish him and his family the best as they graduate to new opportunities and the next chapters of their lives.”

CBS reported that Sylvia’s firing was related to his allegedly failing three polygraph tests about leaks to the press. But Sylvia has been a target of the far right for some time now, as Islamaphobic content creator and unofficial Trump administration adviser Laura Loomer called for him to be fired over a year ago for his son Gavin’s comments on Charlie Kirk.

“Meet Gavin Sylvia. A ‘He/Him’ who displays his pronouns in his bio. He is currently employed as a data analyst with @fema, a DHS @DHSgov agency. Yesterday, he posted on Instagram, ‘Half mast for the literal racist homophobe misogynist?? bffr’. This was his response to Charlie Kirk being assassinated,” she wrote. “His father is a Major General in the United States Army and currently serves at the Pentagon. He was nominated for a third star by Joe Biden…. These people hate us. They don’t belong near the levers of our National Power…. Please fire Gavin Sylvia … [and] @PeteHegseth should also review the employment of Gavin’s father, MG Brett Sylvia.”

One year later, and her wish has been granted.

While the Pentagon claims Sylvia failed the polygraphs, Hegseth hasn’t really needed much of a reason to fire the 25 other high-ranking military leaders. Being a President Biden appointee, being too “woke,” or simply not jiving with Hegseth’s aggressive leadership style have made other officials targets of Hegseth’s purge.

This firing also comes as the war on Iran—one that the U.S. has been definitely losing for almost a year—appears likely to ramp up after the midterm elections.

A federal judge tore into the Trump administration for attempting to impede California’s elections, accusing the executive branch of operating more like a monarchy than a component of American democracy.

U.S. District Judge David Carter slammed the president and his subordinates Wednesday evening for filing a temporary restraining order that would have forced California to set aside roughly 20,000 ballots over baseless accusations of voter fraud.

“Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch,” Carter wrote. “In bringing this lawsuit, the Executive would have this Court believe that it reigns as a sole sovereign. But California and its people are sovereign, too.”

The Justice Department had demanded that California election workers not process ballots from thousands of individuals that it posited—without evidence—were “likely” noncitizens. State and local officials shot back that the DOJ list was unreliable. Los Angeles County, for instance, found that many people named on the DOJ list didn’t even have active voter registrations.

Election officials also argued that setting aside ballots before Election Day would be unlawful and possibly impossible, particularly when early voting and mail-in ballots are already being tabulated.

In response, the DOJ warned Californian officials that they could potentially face criminal exposure if they failed to comply with the White House’s demands, according to Democracy Docket.

“These threats must stop,” Carter ordered.

Carter noted that the DOJ has the ability to prosecute individual noncitizens when it actually has evidence they voted illegally, but does not have the authority to assert its election preferences across the country.

“The Executive’s requested relief,” Carter wrote, “would wreak havoc and disrupt the election that is already underway, create a chilling effect on election workers and voters alike, and discount the votes of United States citizens.

“This Court declines to be a party to such process.”