President Biden and his national security team have several reasons to learn what former President Donald Trump said in their dozen-plus talks to Russian President Vladimir Putin. One of them is probably curiosity. ‘Trump kept a close eye on his private conversations with foreign leaders while in office, and went so far as to hide some in the country [National Security Council’s] top secret code word system to restrict staff and even cabinet members’ access and prevent leaks, ” Politico notes. Americans typically found out about his talks with Putin from the Kremlin.
But there are also practical reasons, Politico underline. “Understanding what was said between the two can help highlight whether Trump ever disclosed sensitive information or entered into any agreements with the Kremlin leader that could have surprised the new government.”
“It’s a national security priority to find out what Trump told Putin,” a former national security official near Biden said. Politico. “Some things, like what happened in some face-to-face meetings where no American translator or recorder was present, may never be completely known.” But other conversations were commemorated in rough transcripts, called ‘memcons’, or memoranda of conversation, and Biden now has full access to them. Probably.
“They do not need our approval to see it,” said a former Trump White House official. Politico. “Biden owns all the call material. There is only one president at a time.” Another former Trump official has argued that the Putin calls should be kept private, but legally they do not fly, said Kel McClanahan, executive director of the law firm National Security Advisers. “There is literally no situation, nor is there, where a former president can stop a sitting president from seeing something.”
“Memcons” are then considered presidential records and have been handed over to the National Archives and Records Administration, a former Trump White House official said Politico. Biden officials did not disclose whether they had seen the call records, but they also did not complain that they did not have access to them.
And the calls may not be as enlightening, former senior Trump advisers said Politico, noting that Marina Gross, who acted as Trump’s interpreter in many of his interactions with Putin, ‘told associates that he was listening to two friends in a bar listening to their conversations. Read more at Politico.
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