'Then comes the tell': Ex-Trump insider says president just sent a 'signal' to adversary

Donald Trump is sending "signals" to Putin, according to an ex-operative with deep ties to Trump and Ukraine.

Soviet-born Lev Parnas, who worked closely with Rudy Giuliani during Trump's first administration, was purportedly sent to Ukraine to help Trump and Giuliani make contacts there for the purposes of digging up negative info on Hunter Biden. Parnas was later convicted of campaign finance violations, and today reports on Trump from outside the administration.

Parnas late on Saturday published an article called "Trump’s NATO Letter Exposes His Deal with Putin," in which he argues that Trump's "reckless letter reveals he’ll only act against Russia if it benefits him, not democracy or freedom."

In his letter, Trump wrote in part, "I am ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA... I believe that this, plus NATO, as a group, placing 50% to 100% TARIFFS ON CHINA, to be fully withdrawn after the WAR with Russia and Ukraine is ended, will also be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR."

Trump then added, "China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia, and these powerful Tariffs will break that grip. This is not TRUMP’S WAR (it would never have started if I was President!), it is Biden’s and Zelenskyy’s WAR. I am only here to help stop it, and save thousands of Russian and Ukrainian lives (7,118 lives lost last week, alone. CRAZY!)"

For Parnas, though, the letter can be seen as "extortion" or even "blackmail."

"Trump just posted a so-called 'letter' addressed to NATO and the world. And once again, it’s not just reckless—it’s dangerous," Parnas wrote. "He says NATO should slap 50% to 100% tariffs on China, but not as a long-term strategy—only until the war ends. That’s not foreign policy. That’s a shakedown. He’s treating a global war like one of his real estate deals, bargaining with tariffs as if the lives of Ukrainians are chips at his poker table."

Parnas also highlighted what he says was a "tell" in the letter.

"And then comes the tell: Trump repeats his old line—'this is not Trump’s war, it’s Biden’s and Zelenskyy’s war.' That is the Kremlin’s narrative word-for-word," according to Parnas. "Trump is telling NATO allies that Ukraine’s survival, and Russia’s aggression, don’t matter unless they serve his personal agenda. He even throws out fake casualty figures, pretending concern for '7,118 lives lost last week alone,' while making it clear he’ll only act if NATO bends to his demands. That’s not leadership. That’s blackmail."

Parnas then translated that tell into what it means:

"This is what I’ve been warning you about. Trump is not serious about stopping Putin. He’s not serious about NATO. He’s not serious about saving lives. He is serious about leverage—about using this war to strengthen his power, weaken the alliance, and tie Ukraine’s survival to his trade wars with China. And while he postures about 'ending' the war, what he’s really signaling to Putin is simple: I got your back."

After declaring that Putin is "listening" to the signals, Parnas writes, "I know how these backchannel games work—I was born in the Soviet Union. I grew up in this world. I know how it works because I lived it."

"And later, I was sent by Donald Trump himself to put pressure on President Zelensky, to deal directly with Russian oligarchs," the ex-Trump insider added. "I saw firsthand how these oligarchs and foreign operatives operate, how they treat lives as nothing more than bargaining chips. That’s why when I read Trump’s so-called 'letter' to NATO, I don’t see diplomacy—I see extortion."

Read the post here.