Opinion

AMB. GORDON SONDLAND: The Godfather Test -- How Putin turns every attack into a mystery—and gets away with it

We must stop requiring courtroom-grade proof before defending countries and institutions that are not courtrooms.

By Gordon Sondland Fox News

Published September 6, 2026 7:50am EDT | Updated September 6, 2026 7:00am EDT

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In one of the most memorable scenes in "The Godfather," Don Vito Corleone gathers the heads of New York’s crime families to make peace and secure the return of his son Michael.

"But I’m a superstitious man," he tells them.

He then warns that if Michael should suffer some supposedly random misfortune—an implausible suicide, a fatal accident or even a bolt of lightning—"then I’m going to blame some of the people in this room…"

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The message was unmistakable: Do not hide an attack behind coincidence, an intermediary or a carefully manufactured lack of proof. Whatever disguise is chosen, I will know where it came from, and I will hold the responsible people accountable.

Marlon Brando in "The Godfather." (CBS via Getty Images)

It is time for NATO and the European Union to adopt what might be called the Godfather Test.

If a drone mysteriously crosses into the territory of an Eastern European country, we should presume Vladimir Putin is responsible.

If a power cable is severed beneath the Baltic Sea, we should presume Vladimir Putin is responsible.

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If a government network is crippled, a weapons factory explodes, a railway system is disrupted or a political figure suddenly becomes the beneficiary of a sophisticated disinformation campaign, we should presume Vladimir Putin is responsible.

Putin can then prove that he was not.

This reverses the way the West has traditionally approached such events. Our democracies are built upon the presumption of innocence. It is one of our most important values, and it must remain inviolate when we administer justice to individuals through our courts.

But Vladimir Putin is not a defendant standing in an American courtroom. Russia is not entitled to the protections of the Bill of Rights, a jury of its peers or an........

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