A former White House official says the White House severely restricted distribution of memos detailing President Trump's calls with foreign leaders, including Russia's Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman.
President Donald Trump speaks at the Hispanic Heritage Month Reception in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Sept. 27, 2019.
The clampdown was not an attempt to conceal improper discussions but rather keep distribution about the substance of the calls to a minimum in light of the leaked transcripts from the summer of 2017, according to the official, who was not authorized to publicly talk about the process and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The former White House official confirmed there was an effort to limit access to Trump’s calls, but offered an alternative explanation: The White House was trying to limit leaks of private conversations. CNN first reported on the White House effort. The call came days after Trump ordered a freeze to some military assistance for Ukraine, Trump prodded Zelenskiy to dig for potentially damaging material on Biden, the former vice president who is a leading contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, and volunteered the assistance of both his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and his attorney general, William Barr.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Adam Schiff says White House ‘hijacked’ House Russia probe transcripts"Negotiations now, after 10 months, are at an impasse and our patience has been exhausted," Schiff says.
Read more »
Trump and NRA head met at White HousePresident Trump and Wayne LaPierre, the chief executive of the National Rifle Association, met Friday at the White House, an administration official confirmed to CNN.
Read more »
White House intervened to 'lock down' records of Trump-Ukraine call - whistleblower‘The White House didn’t direct me to withhold the information neither did the office of the legal counsel,’ said acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire during testimony on the Ukraine whistleblower report
Read more »
White House acted to 'lock down' Trump-Ukraine call records: whistleblower'The horse has left the barn,' acting Director of National Intelligence Maguire testifies during the House Intelligence Committee hearing on a whistleblower's memorandum. More:
Read more »
Experts criticize White House use of sensitive computer system to store Trump transcriptsWhite House officials’ decision to move records of the president’s calls with foreign officials to a highly sensitive and protected computer system at the National Security Council -- one of the revelations contained in a whistleblower complaint made public Thursday -- was highly unusual and likely inappropriate
Read more »