A proposal to bolster relations with the Kremlin through the purchase of Russian energy assets is striking even for an administration that regularly mixes personal business interests with foreign policy.
Page F2From§Eachthe sunrise edition — 3 October 2026
Putin pitches oil deal to Trump's son-in-law, the man negotiating peace with Putin.
As it ran on the front
On September 4, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner flew to Moscow, then to Kyiv — the special envoy and the president's son-in-law, sent to revive the stalled talks. By September 6, they called the Kyiv leg "encouraging." By September 7, Witkoff was touting "substantive progress" and a three-day pause in the fighting both sides had agreed to so the talks could continue. Two days later, on September 9, the president took a call with Putin and pronounced it "great."
That same September 9, a separate ledger closed. An analysis of the president's financial disclosure found his nine largest oil and gas holdings had risen by as much as $4.4 million since the United States went to war with Iran six months before — a different war than the one Witkoff and Kushner were in Moscow to end, running through the same portfolio at the same time. The filing does not break out how much of that nine-holding basket sits in Russian or Ukrainian energy rather than Iranian; what it establishes is simpler: the portfolio moves with war, and that week it moved by millions.…
…(cont) Two weeks later, on September 23, Secretary of State Marco Rubio invited Putin to the G20 summit in Miami this December, the first time Putin would appear at a G20 in person since he started the war in 2022. Two days after that, on September 25, seven Senate Republicans — Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn among them — signed a letter telling the president they had "serious concern" and asking him to explain why Putin had been invited at all.
Today's filing reconciles the rest. The New York Times reports that Putin raised a sale of Russian energy assets directly with the two men running the American side of these talks, Kushner and Witkoff, in a proposal the paper's own reporting says "raises new questions about conflicts of interest." The men brokering the ceasefire are the same two men being pitched the deal that ceasefire would make profitable to close. There is a seller, a sale, and two buyers who also hold the pen on the calendar that prices what they would be buying, hon — the longer the war runs, the less they would pay for it.
“This isn't a mystery, it's a sales pitch wearing a peace plan. The same two guys writing the ceasefire are the same two guys being offered a stake in what's left once the oil stops getting shelled — that's not diplomacy, that's inventory management. The Senate letter doesn't even mention it; they're busy asking why Putin got invited to Miami while his own deal gets cut in the next room.”
“Look, nothing's been signed — my goodness, people act like a conversation is a contract. Putin brings up a lot of things in a room, doesn't mean Jared's running to the bank, he's a dealmaker, that's what dealmakers do, they talk business, it's practically a compliment to American negotiating skill — did I say compliment? Forget I said that.”
Earlier in this story
- Seniors get $90 once; the president's oil stocks gain up to $4.4 million from the war. By Ruth · the wee small hours edition, 3 October 2026
- Ads praising the president's presidency were charged to border security, at the president's direction. By Mort · the supper edition, 2 October 2026
- Sen. Ron Johnson holds the vote that could save $810 million, declines to cast it. By The Wrecking Crew · the late evening edition, 30 September 2026
- White House mails 'finally getting something back' checks for overcharges no audit ever found By Ruth · the supper edition, 30 September 2026
- Administration mails $500 checks for ACA premiums it admits no audit confirmed were ever overcharged By Ruth · the matinee edition, 30 September 2026
- Trump priced Congress at $5,000 an adult; twenty days later his party counts his controversies among its headaches By Mort · the breakfast edition, 29 September 2026
The receipts
Trump promised to settle the Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office, on 53 separate occasions, CNN counted CNN fact check, 25 April 2025 (all 53 instances)
U.S.-Russia Talks on Ukraine Now Involve an Oil Deal Tied to Trump AlliesPresident Vladimir V. Putin brought up a sale of Russian energy assets with President Trump’s envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, pushing a deal that raises new questions about conflicts of interest.
· Trump hails ‘great’ call with Putin as negotiators eye elusive Russia-Ukraine deal from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026
· McConnell, Cornyn join letter questioning Trump invite to Putin from the morgue, 25 Sep 2026
· US invites Putin to G20 summit in Miami for first time since Russia-Ukraine war began from the morgue, 23 Sep 2026
· Trump envoys hail ‘encouraging’ talks in Kyiv to end Russia-Ukraine war from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026
· Witkoff, Kushner to visit Moscow and Kyiv in renewed push to end Russia-Ukraine war from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026
· Witkoff touts 'substantive progress' after peace talks with Ukraine, Russia from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026
· Trump's Top Oil Stocks Have Made Him Up to $4.4 Million Richer During Iran War: Analysis from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.