President Trump with the Russian foreign minister, left, and the Russian ambassador at the White House on May 10th 2017. (The photo was taken by a Russian photographer. American journalists were not allowed)
Updated: May 16th, 2017
U.S. Lawmakers to Trump: Turn Over Transcript of Meeting With Russians
A growing number of Republican and Democratic lawmakers are calling on President Trump to hand over the transcript of the White House meeting last week in which he revealed highly classified information to Russia’s foreign minister and ambassador, according to current and former U.S. officials.
Members of Congress — primarily Democrats — have spent several days demanding that Trump turn over tapes of White House meetings after he suggested, while defending his decision to fire FBI Director James B. Comey, that he records his conversations.
But the calls intensified Tuesday morning after Trump seemed to acknowledge on Twitter that he had shared sensitive information during his meeting with the Russians.
“We want to know what took place in that meeting, and my understanding is there may be recordings or transcripts,” Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Tuesday on Capitol Hill. “Obviously, we’d like to see that with appropriate redactions.”
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Trump should release the alleged transcript “if [he] has nothing to hide.”
“Until the administration fully explains the facts of this case, the American people will rightly doubt if their president can handle our nation’s most closely kept secrets,” Schumer said Tuesday on the Senate floor. And a former Marine intelligence officer now serving in the House said transparency demands the release of the transcript, if it exists.
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Related:
Hill Republicans alarmed by Trump disclosure to Russians (Politico)
Trump Shared Top US Secrets With Russia (The Washington Post)
Political Chaos in Washington is a Return on Investment for Moscow (The Washington Post)
Former director of US national intelligence says US institutions under assault by Trump & Russia (CNN)
Inside Trump’s anger and impatience — and his sudden decision to fire Comey (The Washington Post)
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