Free Republic

A senior official who dismantled the US government’s Russian disinformation unit is married to a Russian woman with links to the Kremlin, The Telegraph can reveal. Darren Beattie has provoked alarm within the State Department since being appointed in February for his ardent pro-Russian views. He has been noted for his focus on destroying the agency tasked with tackling Kremlin propaganda. Mr Beattie, the acting under-secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, is married to a woman whose uncle has taken several roles in Russian politics and once received a personal “thank you” message from Vladimir Putin.

Donald Trump said Ukraine “may not survive” as the White House put pressure on Volodymyr Zelensky to give up territory seized by Russia.Ahead of the start of peace talks in Saudi Arabia this week, Mr Trump suggested Ukraine may cease to exist as a sovereign state.Mr Zelensky has been told he must show he is willing to cede land occupied by Russia if he wants Washington to lift its ban on weapons and intelligence sharing.The US president has repeatedly called for Ukraine to sign a minerals deal that would give the US access to 50 per cent of Ukraine’s mineral...

Mr Kennedy had previously said that Mr Trump had “promised” him control of the Department of Health and Human Services and public health agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).