Donald Trump Suggests He Will Release Transcript Of Call With Ukraine
On Sunday, President Donald Trump suggested that he will release a transcript of his call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, The Hill reports.
The call has caused much controversy including being the subject of an intelligence community whistleblower complaint.
“We’ll make a determination about how to release it, saying what we said,” the president said of the transcript, describing his conversation with Zelensky as “perfect.”
Trump went on to say that he would “talk” about releasing the transcript, but also said that “you have to be a little bit shy about doing that.”
By suggesting that he would be fine with releasing a transcript of the conversation, Trump went against the judgment of Mike Pompeo, his secretary of state, who said earlier today that releasing such details would only be appropriate under “extreme” circumstances.
Trump also complained about the fact that a whistleblower had attempted to share the details of his phone call.
“The problem is, when you’re speaking to foreign leaders, you don’t want foreign leaders to feel that they shouldn’t be speaking openly,” he said.
“And the same thing with an American president. You want them to be able to express themselves without knowing that every single word was going to be going out and going out all over the world,” the commander-in-chief added.
As previously accounted for by The Inquisitr, reports indicate that an intelligence whistleblower decided to come forward because if Trump was using the power of his office to damage a political opponent’s campaign that would become a major offense.
The full extent of the whistleblower’s complaint remains unknown, given that acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguir has blocked the United States Congress from accessing the material.
The president is reportedly pressuring Zelensky to investigate Democratic front-runner Joe Biden’s son Hunter’s alleged ties to Ukrainian oligarchs. The president’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, confirmed as much during media interviews, with the president himself appearing to have inadvertently admitted to engaging in what is being described as an abuse of power.
President Trump on the call with the Ukraine president: “My conversation with the president, the new president of Ukraine, was perfect. … It was a perfect conversation” #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/uFLoPo7NtA
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 22, 2019
However, the president and his Republican allies have gone on the offensive, taking aim at the media and at the Biden family, and accusing the Democratic Party of working with members of the press to shield what is perceived to be one of its strongest candidates in the 2020 presidential election.
Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives has remained passive, creating more tension within the opposition party, with some Democrats frustrated with Nancy Pelosi’s refusal to take concrete action.
Unlike many in her caucus, Pelosi remains adamantly opposed to impeachment.
