JD Vance Takes a Blowtorch to Politico Reporter for Running Deep State Smears

Vice President J.D. Vance sharply criticized Politico and its diplomatic correspondent Felicia Schwartz on Friday, accusing the outlet of engaging in “journalistic malpractice” by excluding on-the-record statements from top officials that defended Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.

Politico published an article titled, “‘His inexperience shines through’: Steve Witkoff struggles to manage Russia as Trump peace envoy,” that relied heavily on anonymous sources to question Witkoff’s role in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

The article included critical quotes from unnamed officials but omitted full on-the-record statements from Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former White House adviser Jared Kushner, and U.K. national security adviser Jonathan Powell, all of whom defended Witkoff’s efforts.

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Vance responded in a statement posted to X, calling the article part of a coordinated effort to undermine the Trump administration’s peace initiatives.

“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 wrote.

“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.”

The Politico article quoted Vance only once, citing him as saying, “Witkoff has made more progress towards ending the bloodshed in Ukraine than all his critics combined.”

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But Vance said his fuller statement was left out, along with on-the-record comments from other high-ranking officials.

In his extended remarks, Vance described Witkoff as “an invaluable member” of the administration, adding that he would be credited with helping to secure a potential peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

Powell’s comments were also shortened in the Politico piece.

The article quoted Powell as saying Witkoff “has been able to open doors that no one else could” and “is exactly [the] sort of person” who builds trust in diplomacy.

However, Powell’s full remarks, shared by Vance, went further.

“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,” Powell said.

He added, “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.”

Politico’s report relied on a series of anonymous sources alleging that Witkoff was difficult for staff to locate, struggled to focus on tasks, and refused to consult experts.

Other unnamed individuals claimed that Russian officials were frustrated with Witkoff’s role and doubted his ability to accurately convey messages from Russian President Vladimir Putin to President Donald Trump.

Additional anonymous sources alleged that Witkoff used his own aircraft to travel to Moscow without policy experts and accepted Russian claims about the conflict on the ground.

Vance directly criticized Schwartz, writing, “The person who wrote this garbage is @felschwartz. 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.”

Vance added, “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.”

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… https://t.co/LsPmTpZfqy

— JD Vance (@JDVance) August 29, 2025

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also criticized the article, saying Schwartz had been used as a “sheep” by individuals with a “clear agenda.”

I could not have said it better myself.

Not only did Felicia and her editors refuse to use the many quotes from high-ranking officials provided to them by the White House, they also did not include nearly an hour of context from the subject of the story, Mr. Witkoff.

Too many… https://t.co/E9MHOnidR3

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) August 29, 2025

The dispute highlights ongoing tensions between the administration and media outlets over coverage of diplomatic initiatives, particularly in the sensitive negotiations aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine.