The Washington Post, National Public Radio, CNN, NBC and The Wall Street Journal all cite sources indicating Russia is helping target attacks on American forces in the Middle East. Russia is allegedly providing satellite information to its ally Iran.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Iran has adjusted its tactics in the war to bomb American air defense systems in the region. Moreover, a senior U.S. military official told The New York Times that Iranian-backed militias appear to know where U.S. troops are billeted in the region. Iranian drones killed six U.S. Army Reserve soldiers at an operations center in Kuwait.

What is the Trump administration's reaction? Toughening sanctions on Russia? Sending more supplies to support Ukraine in its war against Russia?

No, it has begun easing restrictions on Russian oil imports in order to lower surging energy prices that have resulted from the American war against Iran. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued a waiver for India to buy Russian oil and announced he was considering lifting more sanctions on Russian oil. Trump said, "We have sanctions on some countries, we are going to take those sanctions off until this straightens out."

At the direction of America's commander-in-chief, the U.S. military is raining fire on Iran while simultaneously opening the door for its chief ally's exports to ensure the cost of "victory" doesn't include a collapse at the gas pump.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that in a call between Trump and President Vladimir Putin, there was "recognition" that Russia "should not be involved" in the U.S.-Iran War. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff reported that on the call, "the Russians said they have not been sharing. That's what they said. So, we can take them at their word..."

At the Helsinki summit in 2018, Putin denied Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. At the time, Trump said: "President Putin says it's not Russia. I don't see any reason why it would be." Trump gave more credence to the Russian leader than U.S. intelligence agencies.

In 2020, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Mark Warner, D-Va., released a Senate Intelligence Committee report which they said "found irrefutable evidence of Russian meddling." So, Putin was lying then and is almost certainly lying now. Clearly the American president never read the classic "How to Win Friends and Influence People" where Dale Carnegie wrote: "Pay less attention to what men say. Just watch what they do."

This would not be the first time either where Russia has provided satellite imagery to Iran or its proxies to attack Western interests. According to The Wall Street Journal, Russia also provided Houthi militants satellite data to target oil tankers in the Red Sea beginning in 2024.

What's in it for Russia to help Iran this time? First, if the U.S. uses bombs, missiles and other ordnance against Iran, they can't be sent to Ukraine for use in its war against Russia. Second, it repays Iran for the drones it has shipped to Russia for use against Ukraine and the technology it provided for Russia to build the drones itself. And third, and most important, the higher oil prices serve Russian interests. Russian oil sales especially to India and China have been a huge contributor of the funds for Russia needs for its war against Ukraine. Higher prices for oil mean more money for the war.

The late Sen. John McCain once said, "Russia is a gas station masquerading as a country." In fact, many historians and economists argue that falling oil prices in the 1980s significantly weakened the Soviet economy and contributed to the collapse of the USSR. Conversely, a rise in prices strengthens Russia.

Trump's relaxation of sanctions throws a life preserver to a deteriorating and perhaps even collapsing Russian economy. What's bad for American motorists and Western economies, then, is good for Russia.

Trump throws around the word "treason" haphazardly, having accused former President Barack Obama, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, and former FBI director James Comey of the crime. Treason is the only crime defined by the Constitution itself where it says, "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort."

The Trump administration is providing "aid and comfort" to Russia even as Moscow allegedly provides its own "aid and comfort" to an Iran currently "levying war" against the United States.

Trump himself may be immune for prosecution for treason thanks to the Supreme Court's grant of immunity to him for official acts, but it sure looks as though he intends to provide even more "aid and comfort" to Russia, an enemy during the war against Iran.

For shame.

A renaissance man, Keith Raffel has served as the senior counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee, started a successful internet software company, and had six books published including five novels and a collection of his columns. He currently spends the academic year as a resident scholar at Harvard. You can learn more about him at keithraffel.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators website at creators.com

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