Former CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos, who oversaw CIA clandestine operations in Europe and Eurasia, criticized President Trump’s Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz for defending Trump’s deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import Russian diesel fuel to the United States.
The Trump administration temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian diesel to permit the sales. The sanctions were intended to deprive Moscow of revenue supporting its war against Ukraine.
Waltz said: “The Ukrainians have been attacking Russian refineries as part of the war. The president has been clear in asking the Ukrainians to stop.”
Shame on Mike Waltz. Please no more about how he he’s one of the good guys. I’m so tired of hearing who the “normies” in the administration are. He just blamed Ukraine for high diesel prices. He’s defending a deal that Trump made that funds the Russia war machine. Waltz is gonna have to live with these comments (and his service to Trump) forever. Disgusting.
— Marc Polymeropoulos (@Mpolymer) October 9, 2026
Polymeropoulos responded on social media: “Shame on Mike Waltz. Please no more about how he’s one of the good guys. I’m so tired of hearing who the ‘normies’ in the administration are. He just blamed Ukraine for high diesel prices. He’s defending a deal that Trump made that funds the Russia war machine. Waltz is gonna have to live with these comments (and his service to Trump) forever. Disgusting.”
Prior to joining Trump’s Cabinet, as a Florida Congressman in 2022, Waltz initially supported measures such as the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022 and early emergency supplemental appropriations. His voting record changed in 2024, while Trump was campaigning for president.
[NOTE: On his first day back in the White House, in January 2025, President Trump signed an executive order revoking the security clearances of Polymeropoulos and the other former intelligence officials who signed a letter he co-wrote which claimed that the emails found on Hunter Biden’s laptop had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”]