Trump Announces Release of Unredacted Transcript of His Call with Ukraine's President
President Donald Trump said Tuesday he plans to release the transcript of a controversial phone call he had in July with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
That phone call was reportedly mentioned in an intelligence official’s whistleblower complaint to the intelligence community’s inspector general.
In recent days, Democrats have focused on the phone call, during which Trump allegedly pressured Zelensky to investigate Hunter Biden, the son of Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden.
Previous media accounts have said Biden pressured Ukraine to dismiss a prosecutor who was investigating an energy company that paid Hunter Biden.
Calls for impeachment increased after The Washington Post linked the call to a July decision to temporarily withhold about $400 million in aid to Ukraine.
The money was paid earlier this month.
In a pair of tweets Tuesday, Trump said he’d release the transcript of the call.
“I am currently at the United Nations representing our Country, but have authorized the release tomorrow of the complete, fully declassified and unredacted transcript of my phone conversation with President Zelensky of Ukraine,” the president wrote.
I am currently at the United Nations representing our Country, but have authorized the release tomorrow of the complete, fully declassified and unredacted transcript of my phone conversation with President Zelensky of Ukraine….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019
Trump suggested the full transcript would prove he did nothing wrong.
….You will see it was a very friendly and totally appropriate call. No pressure and, unlike Joe Biden and his son, NO quid pro quo! This is nothing more than a continuation of the Greatest and most Destructive Witch Hunt of all time!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019
“You will see it was a very friendly and totally appropriate call,” Trump said.
“No pressure and, unlike Joe Biden and his son, NO quid pro quo!” he added.
It remains to be seen whether this move will be enough for the president’s critics:
Whatever transcript Trump puts out is not going to be the end of this >> https://t.co/Y9fWqQum8c
— Eli Stokols (@EliStokols) September 24, 2019
Dems will say this is not enough and they want the whistleblower report. https://t.co/QFaEccgSmy
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) September 24, 2019
Nancy Pelosi on whether Trump’s decision to release the Ukrainian call transcript will cause Democrats to shift away from calls for impeachment: “No. This is about the constitution of the United States. We have many other candidates for impeachable offenses.”
— Matt Viser (@mviser) September 24, 2019
President Trump is leaning in on the idea that his call with the president of Ukraine was perfectly above board by releasing a transcript of the call.
Trumps says it will be unredacted but WH transcripts have left out things in the past so it will be interesting to see this. https://t.co/Z5Cy0MQiHc
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) September 24, 2019
Trump’s announcement came several minutes before House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff of California said he’d been informed that the whistleblower wants to testify before lawmakers.
“We have been informed by the whistleblower’s counsel that their client would like to speak to our committee and has requested guidance from the Acting DNI as to how to do so,” Schiff tweeted.
We have been informed by the whistleblower’s counsel that their client would like to speak to our committee and has requested guidance from the Acting DNI as to how to do so.
We‘re in touch with counsel and look forward to the whistleblower’s testimony as soon as this week.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) September 24, 2019
“We‘re in touch with counsel and look forward to the whistleblower’s testimony as soon as this week.”
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