Milwaukee assistant city attorney who backed Putin in Russian TV appearance fired

A Milwaukee assistant city attorney has been fired after backing Russian President Vladimir Putin in an appearance on Russia Today TV.

City attorney Tearman Spencer terminated Jennifer DeMaster on Monday with a notice that cited “Job performance. Poor fit,” according to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Last week, DeMaster appeared on Russia Today and asserted that Putin was within his rights to recognize the two separatist regions in Ukraine as independent, claiming he did nothing wrong in sending troops there. 

“When people like Secretary of State [Antony] Blinken of the U.S. or [British Prime Minister] Boris Johnson or others or [President] Joe Biden come out and say this is a clear violation of international law, that’s simply not true. It is not a clear violation of international law because they cannot name an international law that this violates,” DeMaster said, according to the Journal Sentinel.

She also told the outlet, which is owned and controlled by Russia, that the looming invasion would pose “no threat to U.S. national security.”

“We have lots of issues going on right here at home that are, in effect, a danger to national security,” she said. 

DeMaster was one of multiple attorneys hired following a mass departure of employees from Spencer’s office due to a “toxic work environment,” the newspaper reported.

DeMaster’s history, which included work for the Clarion Project, which is considered a major proponent of Islamophobia, was criticized by both local and national advocacy and religious leaders. But Spencer’s top deputy had originally urged staffers to have “an open mind” about her, the Journal Sentinel added. 

The Hill has reached out to the Milwaukee city attorney’s office for comment.