Vice President J.D. Vance slammed Politico diplomatic correspondent Felicia Schwartz’s “journalistic malpractice” on Friday after she failed to quote high-ranking officials who disputed several anonymous sources’ allegations about Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
Schwartz included quotes from all anonymous sources who criticized Witkoff’s handling of peace talks with Russia in the article, “‘His inexperience shines through’: Steve Witkoff struggles to manage Russia as Trump peace envoy.” The outlet did not include Vance’s full on the record statement, and completely left out on the record quotes from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former White House adviser Jared Kushner, who all defended the special envoy.
Vance condemned Schwartz on X for engaging in a “foreign influence operation” with anonymous deep state “con men.”
“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. Notice how all of the people attacking Steve are on background? That means it’s two or three deep staters who are angry that Witkoff has succeeded where they’ve failed,” Vance wrote. “You know what this “reporter” left out to make room for anonymous quotes? The full quote from the sitting vice president, on the record. A quote from the secretary of the state, on the record. A quote from Jared Kushner, on the record.”
Politico and Schwartz did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
The article simply quoted Vance saying, “Witkoff has made more progress towards ending the bloodshed in Ukraine than all his critics combined.” In his X statement, Vance praised Witkoff as an “invaluable member” of the administration and added that he will be credited with scoring a potential peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
Politico’s article also significantly trimmed down a quote from U.K. national security adviser Jonathan Powell, who “defended [Witkoff] vigorously from these malicious smears,” Vance said. The article quoted Powell saying that Witkoff, “‘has been able to open doors that no one else could’ and ‘is exactly [the] sort of person’ who gets results in diplomacy by concentrating “on building trust between key leaders … and moving quietly to cut a deal.”
Powell’s full quote read, “I have been working on peace negotiations for the last thirty years and there is a lot of snobbery in diplomacy – that peace can only be made in grand chandeliered rooms, with a delegation of tens of officials and decades of diplomatic experience. But in my experience the people who are actually successful at making peace operate on their own and concentrate on building trust between key leaders on either side and moving quietly to cut a deal. Steve Witkoff is exactly that sort of person.”
“Steve brings experience from making deals in a completely different field, together with charm and optimism, unburdened by the tens of reasons why an initiative cannot work, and a steely focus on getting to a lasting agreement. In the course of this year Steve has been able to open doors that no one else could and make peace possible in a series of different conflicts which would otherwise have remained insoluble,” Powell’s quote continued.
Schwartz anonymously quoted four sources alleging that Witkoff’s staff almost never know where he is and that he is not “consistently engaged” and often struggles to focus on more than one task at a time.” The diplomatic correspondent anonymously cited seven persons familiar stating that Witkoff has “refused to consult with experts and allies,” which has allegedly “left him uninformed at times and unprepared at others.”
While citing another “person familiar,” Schwartz’s reporting also alleged that the Russians in touch with Witkoff are “frustrated” by his supposed “inability to properly convey Putin’s messages and red lines to [President Donald] Trump.” The article alleged that Russians are concerned that Witkoff does not understand what Russian President Vladimir Putin is conveying to him.
The article further cited anonymous sources who alleged that Witkoff uses his own place to fly to Moscow and does not bring policy experts alongside him. Another so-called “person familiar” stated that Witkoff has “bought into the false Russian narrative” that Russia is “winning on the front lines.”
“The person who wrote this garbage is @felschwartz,” Vance continued. “Aside from the failure to include on the record information directly contradicting her reporting, I wonder if she ever asked herself why these anonymous sources came to her at this moment with this particular story. They have an agenda to blow up the president’s efforts to make peace, and they saw her as a useful vessel to launder garbage into the conversation, truth be damned. There are two possible explanations: Felicia is just not very smart, and allowed herself to be used by deep state con men. Or she’s in on it, and used her position to willingly participate in a literal foreign influence operation. Either way, it’s disgraceful.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Schwartz was used as a “sheep” by people pushing a “clear agenda.”
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