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‘There was no risk imposed’: Rubio responds to claim Zoom meeting photos endangered Zelenskyy

March 6, 2022 | | Print Article

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U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) are getting ratioed on Twitter for sharing screenshots of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Zoom in apparent violation of security protocol.

Zelenskyy or his team had apparently requested that no one on the Saturday-morning call with U.S. lawmakers share any images on social media for security reasons. The president has purportedly been endangered by three assassination attempts amidst the Russian invasion.

There were reportedly about 300 members of Congress and staffers in the virtual meeting with the leader of the war-torn country. Zelenskyy reportedly requested more warplanes as well as calling upon the U.S. to stop buying Russian oil.

After the meeting, various Republicans and Democrats posted screenshots.

“Zelenskyy opened the private video call with U.S. lawmakers by telling them this may be the last time they see him alive. He has remained in Kyiv, the capital, which has a vast Russian armored column threatening from the north,” AP reported.

NATO has turned down his request for a no-fly zone because it would dangerously escalate the conflict.

Owing to the U.S. dependence on oil imports from Russia and elsewhere under the Biden administration, which was a reversal of America’s energy independence during the Trump presidency, critics claim that America is helping fund Putin’s war machine.

An appropriation pending in Congress is set to provide $10 billion in military, economic, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Insofar as the request for jet fighters, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). said that “I will do all I can to help the administration to facilitate their transfer” pursuant to what he described as Zelenskyy’s “desperate plea.”

The GO duo may have been completely wrong in posting images from the call, but at least some of the criticism might be political in nature.

According to U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), “the Ukrainian Ambassador very intentionally asked each of us on the zoom to NOT share anything on social media during the meeting to protect the security of President Zelenskyy. Appalling and reckless ignorance by two US Senators.”

Spokespersons for Rubio and Daines implied that people are overreacting, NBC News reported.

“In separate statements, representatives for Rubio and Daines defended the senators’ decision to share the photos, calling those who make an issue out of their tweets “partisan.” There were over 160 members of Congress on a widely reported Zoom call. There was no identifying information of any kind,” said a spokesperson for Rubio. A spokesperson for Daines said his tweet, which was posted about 23 minutes after the meeting started, was “shared well into the call … before it was requested not to” and contained “no identifying information.” “We should be focusing on what’s important here and that’s supporting Ukraine,” added Daines’ spokesperson.

 

 

Sen. Rubio appeared on CNN on Sunday and addressed the controversy, saying they were not asked to refrain from sharing any photos until 30 minutes into the meeting and that he had already done so by then.

He added, “There was nothing secure about that call. The picture is a nondescript picture… There’s no risk posed. But you’re always gonna have a couple people who want their name in an article somewhere.”

As alluded to above, blue-check and non-blue-check liberals are piling on the two senators, including throwing around terms like traitor and laced with various forms of profanity, but not everyone agrees with them.

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Robert Jonathan
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