The Trump administration is moving toward handing back to Russia two diplomatic compounds, near New York City and on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, from which its officials were ejected in late December as punishment for Moscow’s interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Then-President Barack Obama said Dec. 29 that the compounds were being “used by Russian personnel for intelligence-related purposes,” and gave Russia 24 hours to vacate them. Separately, Obama expelled from the United States what he said were 35 Russian “intelligence operatives.”

Beware the fanatic! Too often his cure is deadlier by far than the evil he denounces!

The White House on Wednesday evening released its list of waivers to the Trump administration ethics pledge, exempting at least a dozen White House officials from the rules.

The list includes ex-lobbyists who joined the administration to work on policy areas they had covered for their K Street clients. Two comprehensive waivers give whole swaths of White House employees a waiver from the ethics pledge.

Trump’s ethics pledge, contained in an executive order, came along with promises that he would “drain the swamp” of the Washington influence industry.

The release comes right before the June 1 deadline, and immediately following a White House conflict with the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), which compiles ethics waivers from other agencies. The White House had questioned OGE’s authority to request the waivers, but ultimately said the spat had been a misunderstanding.

White House counsel Don McGahn and the leader of the White House ethics office, Stefan Passantino, vetted the waivers.

Trump’s ethics pledge is aimed to cut down on conflicts of interest, banning ex-lobbyists for two years from working on matters they did for paying clients. It is based on a standard set by the previous commander-in-chief, Barack Obama.

One waiver gives a blanket exemption to all political appointees in the Executive Office of the President, allowing them to talk to the media about policy matters.

Steve Bannon, President Trump’s chief strategist, is the former head of conservative news outlet Brietbart. The waiver from ethics rules would allow him to contact his former outlet.

Another blanket waiver allows all commissioned officers in the White House to communicate with Republican political organizations — including the Republican campaign arm, Trump’s presidential campaign, and a group for GOP governors — about broad policy areas.