“It makes me sick to my stomach to even type this.”
That’s a line you’ll find in Thomas L Friedman’s column in The New York Times this past Sunday. In it, Friedman writes about the diesel deal Trump made with Russia: Trump gets some anticipated election relief, Putin gets billions of dollars, and Ukraine will be left needing more body bags.
If what Trump has been doing to Ukraine doesn’t piss you off, there’s probably something wrong with you. I add the qualifier “probably,” because perhaps you’re just grossly misinformed. And if Fox News happens to be your main news source, that’s likely the case. Sometimes I visit the Fox News website, just to see how they’re covering a story. As I did on April 4, 2025. That day we experienced the biggest 2-day stock market wipeout in U.S. history. I thought Wow, I wonder how Fox News is reporting this? I went to the Fox News website at 9:30 p.m. that day, and started scrolling down. Down. Down. Down. I reached the bottom of the page. Unless I missed it, I didn’t see a single, solitary word anywhere about the stock market dropping 3,800 points in 48 hours. Even the next morning, I checked again. Nothing. Would Fox News have made some mention of the stock market dropping 3,800 points if it happened on Biden’s watch?
What has Trump done to Ukraine? Well, just within the past couple weeks or so: Trump struck a deal with Putin to supply Russian diesel to the U.S. and to global markets (a). Which might even have been illegal (b). Shortly after that, Ukraine stopped receiving the Starlink access necessary to defend itself against Russian ballistic missiles (c). This happened just as Russia (coincidentally?) escalated its attacks. Musk posted on X: “Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the military and ultimately POTUS.” Then it was reported that Trump decided to waive the new Russian sanctions, which were just about to take effect (d).
And can you believe the unmitigated gall (to put it mildly) of Trump telling Zelensky not to hit Russia’s energy production and export sites (which are funding Putin’s war)? After what Putin has done? Are you kidding me? Not to mention that the high cost of fuel is mainly the result of Trump’s unprovoked war in the Middle East. Which is incidentally has been a boon for Russia — the war has caused the price of oil to shoot up, and oil is Russia’s main export. Was pressuring Zelensky to lay off attacking Russia’s fuel-producing sites the real reason for the visit by Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff (under the guise of seeking a ceasefire)?
Then there was also that supposed “energy ceasefire” that Trump said both parties agreed to (e). (Not true!) But it bought more time and provided cover for Russia to hammer Ukraine even more (including their energy sectors), while Zelensky was left afraid to respond in kind, not knowing what Trump would do next. (This was just before Ukraine lost the Starlink access essential for offense and defense, further crippling its ability to do anything.)
One reason I bring all this up is because I’ve decided to post here something that I saw on AlterNet back in February. I prefer to avoid citing certain news sources — such as this one. Which is why I haven’t (until now). But this article is packed with information. It was written by Thom Hartmann. I haven’t heard Hartmann’s radio show in quite some time. He’s now on SiriusXM (there’s an audio link on his website). Before I provide the link to the article, I’ll share a trick I learned recently (it worked for me). To bypass the paywall, quickly hit the Esc (Escape) key immediately after clicking on this link: “Newly unmasked evidence shows who put Trump in the White House” (Hartmann, Thom. AltNet, Feb, 4, 2026)
This article doesn’t specifically use the term Kompromat, but it should. That is the perfect word for what the article pertains to. Kompromat is a Russian portmanteau of “compromising material.” It refers to material that can be used to blackmail, extort or smear public figures.
Specifically, in regards to Trump, if Putin (who worked for the KGB, from 1975-1991) had compromising material, it could be something as simple as a short videotape showing Trump engaged in sexual activity with prostitutes while married. Or it could be tied in with Jeffrey Epstein and involve underage girls. After all, Trump’s name does appear in the Epstein files tens of thousands of times; and he did everything he could to prevent those files from being released — a significant portion of which either still hasn’t been released, or were heavily redacted. In short, Putin could have kompromat on Trump similar in nature to what Prince Andrew was accused of doing. Or it could be much worse.
Think about it. Does Russia actually do such things (e.g., honeypot traps), or pay others to acquire compromising material? Of course. The term kompromat itself is a Russian term because Russia does these things. Would Trump have been the sort of individual Russia might have targeted? Trump was exactly the sort of individual Russia would want to have targeted. A very wealthy businessman, with political connections and political aspirations. Even going as far back as the 1970s, Trump’s father had a net worth of hundreds of millions of dollars. Was Trump the sort of person who might have taken the bait in such a trap? Well, have you heard the Billy Bush tape? But is he really dumb enough to have gotten caught up in something like that? If you really need an answer to that question I’ll assume you haven’t been following the news at all for the past ten years. Has Trump’s behavior in any way ever suggested Russia might be holding something over him? (Cue “Duh!” sound effect.)
See the answer you get if you And ask AI this question: Did Trump have secret calls or meetings with Putin in which no other Americans were present? (Keep in mind those are just the ones we know about.)
Keep in mind too, haven’t we all had that experience, from time to time, where we’re so certain that something couldn’t possibly be true, but then we find out that it is? So even if you strongly doubt Putin has compromising material on Trump, it might nevertheless be true.
I didn’t want to spend a lot of time on this. (Too late.) But it was increasingly gnawing at me that I don’t think I ever really wrote about this before. And yet, I’m constantly seeing news headlines and news stories that make me think about it again and again.
Why is it that mainstream media doesn’t ever seem to bring this topic up? Are they too afraid? Trump after all is very litigious. He brought a $10 billion suit against the BBC, a $10 billion suit against The Wall Street Journal (and its parent company, Dow Jones), a $15 billion billion suit against The New York Times, and a $20 billion suit against CBS. That latter suit was settled for $16 million (it is widely believed CBS settled only because it sought federal approval for an $8.4 million merger involving Paramount and Skydance Media). When Trump cited that $16 million as being “a lotta money” — in a 60 Minutes interview — Norah O’Donnell should have responded: “Is it, Mr. President? Fox News paid Dominion Voting Systems over $787 million, to settle a lawsuit.”
It’s been painful having to watch Zelensky try to come up with words to describe what Trump has done, while knowing Trump has the power to make the screws even tighter. And (in my opinion) would like to make the screws tighter. Trump talked about giving Ukraine Tomahawk missiles. I knew Trump would never give them a single Tomahawk missile. There was also talk about giving Ukraine the ability to manufacture Patriot missiles. Trump quickly about-faced on that too. What a surprise. Zelensky talks about the need to make Trump realize Putin is the obstacle to peace. But that’s never going to happen. For whatever reason, Trump clearly appears to be on Putin’s side, and that’s not going to change. Have you noticed how happy Putin always looks whenever he’s with Trump or meeting with someone from Trump’s administration? Comparatively, remember how Zelensky was treated in the Oval Office by Trump and Vance? They even criticized his attire. And where did Trump meet Putin when they met face to face? In Alaska. I doubt they could’ve found a more isolated place than Alaska. The ideal location for a private discussion. No?
You can’t make this stuff up.
And wasn’t that eerie seeing Umar Kremlev (a close ally of Putin) standing directly behind Donald Trump Jr., in a photo taken on a private island after Trump Jr.’s wedding? (And who reserved that island and paid for the fireworks display?)
You can’t make this stuff up!
To wrap this up, I’ll conclude by listing, below (in no particular order), some of the headlines I’ve seen that touch upon what I’ve discussed. But what I might additionally do (here’s an idea I just had), is use this ‘Kompromat‘ blog post as a landing page for adding additional such articles to from time to time. Therefore, don’t be surprised if this list below grows and grows.
The idea that the Kremlin has kompromat on Trump seems increasingly plausible / If the White House capitulates to Putin on Ukraine, it will grossly and perhaps fatally betray the principles on which Nato was founded (The Irish Times, Jun 25, 2025)
Was 40-year-old Trump recruited by the KGB? (The Hill, Feb, 26, 2025)
Putin invited to join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace,’ Kremlin says (CNBC, Jan 19, 2026)
Exclusive: Top Trump Advisor Sergio Gor Was Born in the Soviet Union / The birthplace of U.S. President Donald Trump’s director of personnel has been the subject of media speculation — fueled by his refusal to answer the question. (Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project — OCCRP.org, Jul 8, 2025)
Trump urged Zelenskyy to accept Putin’s terms or face ‘destruction’ — FT / During his Oct. 17 meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. President Donald Trump urged him to accept the terms of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, the Financial Times reported. (The New Voice of Ukraine, Oct 20, 2025)
Revealed: Trump’s confidential plan to put Ukraine in a stranglehold / Panic in Kyiv as US president demands higher share of GDP than Germany’s First World War reparations (The Telegraph, Feb 17, 2025)
Kremlin and Kazakhstan Both Have Kompromat on Trump, Says Ex-KGB Spy Chief (Kyiv Post, Feb 8, 2026)
(a) Trump strikes deal with Putin to supply Russian diesel to U.S. and global markets (CNBC, Oct 9, 2026)
(b) Tillis says Trump’s Russian diesel deal may be illegal / Sen. Thom Tillis denounces the president’s latest oil deal with Russia as “tarnishing” Sen. Lindsey Graham’s legacy. (Politico, Oct 11, 2026)
(c) Ukraine’s Exposure Grows as Satellite Use is Restricted and Russia Escalates / A huge attack cut power to 600,000 people in Kyiv, and a Pentagon-funded satellite internet program appeared to be curbed without warning. (New York Times, Oct 14, 2026)
(d) Trump’s decision to waive Russian sanctions outrages Congress, but no quick counter seen (AP, Oct 17, 2026)
(e) Trump claims ‘energy ceasefire,’ but Ukraine says Russia keeps striking its energy facilities / Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that he “didn’t know about it. We learned from the media.” The Kremlin said that “contacts are ongoing” (NBC News, Oct 11, 2026)
Trump administration holds up Patriot missiles for Ukraine (Washington Post, Oct 19, 2026)
Trump faces fresh questions over ties to ‘humanitarian’ Putin / US President Donald Trump’s pivot away from Ukraine has triggered fresh questions about his attachment to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the man a top American envoy flattered on Wednesday as a “humanitarian.” (France 24, Oct 21, 2026)