The two diplomats handed out business cards adorned with a gold eagle, the symbol of the US foreign ministry. The first, with a fresh Texas university graduate’s smile and a sharp suit, might seem naive but is already a senior adviser, enjoying significant autonomy. The second, sporting glasses and a side part, holds the title of Director for European and Eurasian Affairs.
Samuel D. Samson and Christopher J. Anderson both work in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, a branch of the State Department established in 1977 to “help advance individual freedom and democratic liberties worldwide” (so its website claims). In reality, they are the spearhead of an interference operation led by the Trump administration across Europe, under the guise of defending freedom of expression.
On May 28, the two diplomats requested a meeting in Paris with three members of the leadership of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an NGO that defends in press freedom. The meeting was organized by the US embassy. RSF, well known in the US, seemed to them the ideal contact for the investigation they were conducting in western Europe, where, according to a speech given in February in Munich by US Vice President JD Vance, freedom of expression was said to be “in retreat.”
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