President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that he would release the “fully declassified and unredacted” transcript of his July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday.
….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
Trump had been saying over the past few days that he’d “love” to release the transcript but worried that it would set a bad precedent. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin made TV appearances parroting a similar line that it would be “inappropriate” to release the transcript.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Trump pressured Zelensky to work with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani to dig up dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter “about eight times” in the course of the phone call. Trump has acknowledged that Biden came up during the conversation, but insists it was only in the context of general comments about the “corruption” plaguing Ukraine.
Trump also maintains that he did not withhold aid from Ukraine to extort Zelensky into launching the probe. The Washington Post reported Monday that Trump did ask acting OMB Director Mick Mulvaney to hold back hundreds of millions in aid funding days before he had his call with the Ukrainian President. It is unclear if the money came up during the conversation.
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As Michael Cohen told us, “That’s not how he operates.” He doesn’t come out and tell you directly what he wants you to do, but it isn’t hard to figure out what’s on the table.
What are the chances that this is only one of multiple conversations. Could Trump and team be cherry picking transcripts to release?
I understand it’s gonna be a one-page summary from Bill Barr.
(Certain redactions may apply.)
That’s nice, but I would prefer to have the whistleblower report. The thing they are required by law to hand over.