Christopher J. Bakes
October 19, 2026
Donald J. Trump must be impeached.
He and his far-right flank are leading America toward Russia and they’re no longer hiding it.
ZeroHedge, a far-right outlet with a large American following, posted an image today showing the American eagle and Russian bear standing together against the British lion and a crumbling Europe, under the words “Things Have Changed.”
Putin’s Ukraine negotiator, Kirill Dmitriev, reposted it with one word: “Together.”
This is the American far right openly advocating repudiation of the North Atlantic Treaty, a Senate-ratified commitment to defend the West and Western civilization, including the lands of our forebears.
Europe gave us the civilization from which our founding ideals grew. Our soldiers’ blood was shed to keep it free. (Trump, of course, never served anywhere at any time, having dodged Vietnam with five deferments.)
Trading our heritage, friendships, culture, and alliances for a KGB dictator is the true mark of hitting bottom.
I say this as a former Navy JAG officer who swore separate oaths to the Constitution as lawyer and naval officer, and as son and student of the World War II generation:
Donald Trump is committing high crimes and misdemeanors against the United States of America.
He has stripped battlefield support from an ally. Ukrainian forces lost full use of Starshield, the military satellite network guiding their drones and air defenses. Elon Musk says the U.S. government controls it, ultimately through the President. Ukrainians have died because of it.
Trump has turned on allies. He told the world NATO troops stayed “a little off the front lines” in Afghanistan, where more than a thousand died answering America’s call.
He has defied Congress. Congress voted to sanction Russia, but Trump stalled the bill for over a year. Now he has loosened sanctions to let Russian diesel flow.
Before the Iran war began, Ukraine offered us its battle-tested technology to shoot down Iranian drones, with production in American factories.
The administration let it die.
Iranian drones then struck our bases. Trump’s own officials called the snub one of the war’s worst mistakes. That same week, Trump’s sons launched a company to sell Ukrainian drone technology to the Pentagon.
Mr. Trump is proving himself a comprehensive traitor: to our allies, Congress, Ukraine, and the Americans in uniform he swore to protect.
There is no gray area. Vote only for those who oppose him and promise action. No American president of any party has so fully betrayed our nation, its allies, and the world. The conservative National Review calls Trump’s acts “aid and comfort” to the enemy in an editorial by former Trump ally Andrew McCarthy. Those words appear in the Constitution’s definition of treason. In the National Review.
Mr. Trump must be impeached and removed.
That will be the subject of my first letter to Senator Talarico (D-TX) on November 4, 2026.
Profile of the author:
Christopher Bakes is a partner who practices in the offices of Lewis Brisbois on both coasts – Los Angeles, New York, Sacramento, and San Francisco. Admitted to practice in California, New York and the District of Columbia, he is a member of Lewis Brisbois’ Complex Business & Commercial Litigation Practice. Mr. Bakes is recognized nationally for the breadth and depth of his practice, the high profile of his cases, matters and transactions, and the results he has obtained in a range of industries, from tech and entertainment to construction and real estate.
Mr. Bakes is a former United States Navy JAG officer, serving both in the continental United States (San Diego) as a trial defense counsel in general and special courts-martial, and with Allied Forces South (Italy), as Staff Judge Advocate onboard USS Orion (AS-18), serving both the ship and Commander Submarine Group Eight (Naples). He received his military legal training at the Naval Justice School, Newport, Rhode Island.
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Ariana Gic :
Boris Johnson calls a spade a spade : Russia is committing GENOCIDE in Ukraine!
We have a legal and moral duty to STOP genocide!
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Roman Sheremeta :
When I read these post from Trump blaming Ukraine and siding with russia, I can’t help but ask how can a man become so morally depraved as to side with the aggressor and blame the victim.
I also don’t get the people who end up supporting this moral bankruptcy. Are they really that morally broken? Or just blinded?
I am thinking of the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 13, where Jesus says “though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.”
Like literally, the devil has such a hold on people that they cannot distinguish light from darkness, good from evil.
If you can stand it, just read that toilet effluent posted by Krasnov on Lies Social.
It’s such vile, low IQ bilge that you would be pretty shocked to read it from a parish councilor, let alone a U.S. president.
Zero Hedge is widely read by magaputler shitheads. Their trolls frequently post links to its poisonous articles inside comments columns in mainstream news sites.
Garry Kasparov :
Trump’s open embrace of Russia should be a major campaign issue. Trump is scapegoating Ukraine to deflect from his war on Iran causing gas prices to skyrocket. But there are also many corrupt deals with Russia for him and his gang.
Sorry Garry. A large group of the US population now is made up by self centered idiots.
Darth Putin KGB :
OTD in 1672 the Treaty of Buchach between Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth & Ottoman Empire was signed. The diplomatic context refers to the “Ukrainian State”
Proof that Lenin created it out of thin air 250 years later.
DW Phillips :
Unpacking Today’s Horror Show of a Truth Social Post
President Trump is on a weeklong rampage aimed at legitimizing the Kremlin and dehumanizing and marginalizing Ukraine.
Today’s Truth Social post was the latest exercise in balderdash. Here is a breakdown:
Trump Claim #1: “I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don’t want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table.”
Response #1: Rubbish. Why this, two years into your “solve it in a day” negotiation process? You are telling the world that if you do not fund the Russian war machine, Russia will leave the bargaining table?
Trump Claim #2: “Great progress is being made, and that includes current hostage negotiations!”
Response #2: This is pure manipulation. You have claimed “great progress” 273 times since taking office. Each claim has been an untruth. How can there be great progress when you force the victim of Russian crimes into a corner and side with the aggressor? The only progress is your complicity in aiding the murder of Ukrainians. As to hostage negotiations—more manipulation. Those will take place with or without you and have little to do with a peace settlement. They are crumbs you offer the public to lend credibility to a process which has failed and you have exchanged for switching to the Russian side.
Trump Claim #3: “Russia is doing very little, if anything, to help the Islamic Republic of Iran, compared to what they could be doing, and I want to keep it that way, and will, unless stupid people get in the way.”
Response #3: Is it possible that the president of the United States is unaware that his own team has released information confirming that Russia is providing targeting information to Iran? Are you saying you don’t know what the world knows? Or are you saying that this act of aggression by Russia against the United States is small potatoes? Really? Do you thing the dead American servicemen families would agree? What about Congress? And are you telling us that you are trading the lives of Americans for those of Ukrainians—you buy blood diesel to help Russia kill Ukrainians so Russia won’t help kill Americans? Really? Did you get it in writing from your “good friend”?
Trump Claim #4: “Zelenskyy is using Diesel Refineries in Russia as a target, knowing that these attacks are seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the United States. Farmers, ranchers, and businesses of all kinds are suffering greatly from this.”
Response #4: Yes, Zelensky is targeting Russian refineries, as he should, because they fund Putin’s efforts to commit war crimes and mass murder. Your own former special envoy to Russia and Ukraine has encouraged him to keep doing so and explained why they are a prime example of a military target. Concerning the farmers you claim to be concerned about—why no mention of your role as the creator of the real oil problem through your failed and unconstitutional war in Iran?
Trump Claim #5: “[Zelensky] doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did. He could have made a better deal two years ago than he can now. His country is in shambles, a large portion of his land is lost, his oceans and seas are gone, and his male population is low, wounded, and/or dead.”
Response #5: Your behavior is unbecoming of a president. We see how you are seeding lies and hatred to build contempt for President Zelensky, whose opinion poll ratings among Americans are vastly higher than your own. You claim that Zelensky won’t make a deal, but what you really mean is that you have accepted Russia’s commitment to rape, pillage, plunder and theft on land which belongs to Ukraine as a requirement of “peace.”. You have chosen to validate that and call it a deal. What you mean is that Zelensky won’t surrender on your terms and Putin’s terms. In other words, your version of “peace” is an open door for never-ending crimes by your KGB “good friends.”
Every sacrifice the Ukrainian people have made has been amplified specifically because of you. You are mocking a people for the pain they suffer, which you helped to create. But even in your mockery and unpresidential manipulations, you misrepresent the basic truth:
As to the illegal conquest of portions of Ukraine that you seek to validate, the Russians temporarily control just over 19% of Ukrainian territory—a proportion that is too high but shrinking daily. Your claims about the ocean are misleading and false. Without a sizable formal navy, Ukraine has dominated the sea, destroying the Russian navy. As to “shambles”—your policies of appeasing the aggressor and bullying the victim have resulted in Putin increasing his war crimes. Even so, Ukraine remains beautiful and defiant—a place you only talk about and have never visited.
Republicans Against Trump :
The United States is now actively helping Russia murder Ukrainian civilians every single night and further destabilize Europe amid the biggest war on the continent since WWII.
Let that sink in.
Georgi Revishvili :
President Zelenskyy on Putin:
“Putin is a killer. That’s why I’m very honest and open to say that he’s a killer.
Maybe it’s not very polite, and maybe not what Trump expects from me.
But I’d rather have partners who are very open and clear than those who are killers, even with a smile on their face.”
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Irina Kopanytsia
American Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw posted this text on his official social media account X (Twitter) on October 14, 2026.
“Unfortunately, a deal depends on the parties, and Putin is a treacherous liar. Putin should not get away with trying to put our president in a bad light. He must regret this. Enforce the sanctions under the new law to their full extent. Let Ukrainian drones blast Russian infrastructure to hell. The time has come. It costs us nothing. I bet Trump will do what needs to be done. He doesn’t like it when lesser people betray his trust. And Putin did exactly that.”
© DAN CRENSHAW, Republican Congressman, former Navy SEAL
The politician’s stance:
Dan Crenshaw (a former Navy SEAL) consistently maintains a strong pro-Ukrainian position among Republicans. He has previously repeatedly advocated for military aid to Ukraine, criticized Elon Musk for restricting Starlink service, and stated that a Ukrainian defeat would trigger a direct clash between NATO and Russia, leading to World War III.
Some interesting facts about him:
• Loss of an eye in Afghanistan: In 2012, during his third combat deployment in Helmand Province, Dan was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED). His interpreter was killed, and Crenshaw himself sustained catastrophic injuries. His right eye was completely destroyed, and his left eye was severely damaged.
• Returned to service against all odds: Despite being blind in one eye, Crenshaw refused to be medically discharged. He underwent rehabilitation and went on to serve two more deployments (to Bahrain and South Korea), finally retiring from the military in 2016 with the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
• A Political “Rebel” Among Republicans
• Crenshaw is a staunch conservative, yet he fiercely critiques the ultra-right wing of his own party. He has publicly called some of his party colleagues “scammers” who only work for social media likes rather than the good of the country. For this, far-right Trump loyalists label him a “globalist” and mock him with derogatory nicknames.
• On January 6, 2021, during the storming of the Capitol, Crenshaw harshly condemned the rioters and refused to support overturning Joe Biden’s election results, stating that the Constitution stands above party interests for him.
• Dan was born in Scotland and, due to his father’s career in the oil and gas industry, spent much of his childhood growing up in Ecuador and Colombia. As a result, he is fluent in Spanish.
• Harvard Degree: After wrapping up his military career, he earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the prestigious John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Petro Andriushchenko
Russia wants the world to believe that Europe’s greatest threat is Europeans themselves. And it uses one of democracy’s fundamental rights to make that argument: the right to protest.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova published a video showing protests in France, Italy, and Albania. It contrasts European leaders’ warnings about Russia with footage of street unrest, asking: “Are these Russians?” The implied answer is that Europeans themselves are attacking Europe.The manipulation is simple but deliberate.
Russia is trying to equate domestic political unrest in democratic societies with its own military aggression against Ukraine.
There is a fundamental difference.In a democracy, citizens have the right to protest, criticize their government, demand its resignation, and change their country’s political direction. Protests can sometimes involve violence and disorder. Such incidents must be addressed through the legal system.
But protesters do not invade neighboring countries with regular armies. They do not occupy foreign cities, launch missiles at residential neighborhoods, destroy hospitals, or deport children.Russia does all of this in Ukraine.
The hypocrisy is particularly striking coming from a state where even a solitary anti-war protest can lead to arrest, and publicly opposing the war can result in criminal prosecution.
European democracy has many problems. Europeans are free to discuss them, demonstrate against their governments, and demand accountability.
That freedom is precisely what distinguishes democracy from authoritarianism.
Russian propaganda presents protests as evidence of Europe’s weakness while defending a state that attempts to redraw international borders by military force.
Europeans protest against their governments because they have the right to do so. Ukrainians defend themselves against the Russian army because Russia violated their right to live in an independent country.
Confusing these two realities is not an innocent mistake.It is a deliberate act of Russian state propaganda.
Extract from an editorial in today’s DT :
“If Europe, including the UK, is to be taken seriously in its support for Ukraine, there is a readily available weapon that could and should be used.
Some £200bn of Russian state assets are lying frozen in financial institutions across the continent, principally Euroclear in Brussels. Britain is sitting on around £25bn.
The amount available comes to 140 per cent of Ukraine’s entire GDP and more than four times that country’s defence budget.
If Europe could seize those reserves and transfer them to Ukraine, it would have a strategic effect, allowing the purchase of new weapons, notably interceptor missiles. A dearth of such weapons is allowing Russia to attack Ukraine with virtual impunity.
By using the assets against Russia, Putin would have to explain to his people why their own resources are being used to buy the bullets and missiles killing their own soldiers.”
Russia must pay for its aggression https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2026/10/18/russia-must-pay-for-its-aggression/