Unsurprisingly, Politico completely missed the story: the story is Lajčák, not Šefčović.

...was essentially a Kremlin PsyOps, clearly the Slovak angle deserves a closer look.

(Here is Lajčák boasting about his honorary degree from MGIMO in 2018.)

english.mgimo.ru/news/lajcak

I have no idea what all this amounts to, and I'm not an investigative journalist. (For good English-language coverage of Lajčák's emerging links to Epstein, check out the Slovak Spectator.) But given recent accusations that the entire Epstein saga...

spectator.sme.sk/politics-and...

He also uses the opportunity – an interview with Slovak Radio – to peddle Kremlin talking points, for example about the self-harm the EU is allegedly inflicting with its sanctions against Russia.

www.sme.sk/domov/c/lajc...

On January 31, Lajčák was made to resign as diplomatic adviser to Slovak prime minister Fico over the Epstein revelations. But even in his only public comments so far he's still playing dumb about Epstein. Remember, they met in 2017, years after Epstein's conviction.

...together at MGIMO in Moscow before both returning to Slovakia, joining the Communist Party and the foreign service. (Šefčović's official Commission CV omits his time in Moscow, 1985-90.)

Lajčák was almost immediately posted back to Moscow.

But today, Šefčović is clearly not amused by Lajčák's indiscretion. He told reporters through a spokesperson "If Miroslav Lajčák mentioned my name, it was for his own purposes with which I had nothing to do."

Now a bit of context. Šefčović and Lajčák go way back; in the late 1980s they studied...

Lajčák suggests to Epstein he'd like to replace Šefčović in the college of commissioners, jokingly claiming that this is why he supports his candidacy for president. Given what a careerist Lajčák is, this might even be true.

Lajčák, Slovakia's foreign minister at the time, tells Epstein about Šefčović when the latter – then as now a European commissioner – announces he's running for president of Slovakia, in early 2019. (He lost, and Epstein went to prison.)

www.justice.gov/epstein/file...

(And yes, I realize they're trash and that the Lajčák piece seems to be entirely based on an interview he gave to Slovak Radio, but they could've called up his Wikipedia page, no?)

...his EU career ("...served as Slovak foreign minister in multiple Fico governments between 2009 and 2020")?

The article about Lajčák literally doesn't mention his EU jobs at all.

What's going on here?

Why is Politico downplaying Lajčák's role in the Epstein files and in the EU?

And why does another piece published at the same time, which gives Lajčák space to defend himself, again entirely elide...

...reference describing him as a "fellow Slovak politician." But Lajčák was the EU's envoy to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2007-09 and managing director for Europe in the EU's diplomatic service in 2010-12. In 2020-25, he was the EU's negotiator in the Serbia-Kosovo talks.

Indeed

I was vaguely aware he'd drifted to the right, and there was of course the whole polemic surrounding Oleanna in the early 90s, but I had no idea he'd gone all-out MAGA since then

Still, brilliant movie 🤷‍♂️

*the New York Times Pitchbot - but you all got that

And - not going to lie - the New York Pitchbot

You know, when I just saw the headline and kicker - before I'd seen the byline - I already thought of Moyn.

There's a line in The Diplomat that goes something like, those who are seeking power are exactly the wrong people to exercise it (I'm paraphrasing). Lajcak is exactly that type – never on his current job but always thinking of his next move.

That also jumped out at me...