White House officials are considering releasing a transcript of President Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president, multiple sources tell CNN.
However, some senior administration officials, like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, are against the idea because of the precedent releasing it could set with future foreign leaders — and because putting it out could give Congress ammunition to demand transcripts of Trump’s calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
White House officials were soliciting opinions from outside advisers over the weekend about whether they should release the transcript of Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president, as well as how advisers think the White House should message it if the transcript was “embarrassing.”
A person familiar with the discussions said the White House Counsel’s Office is currently involved in evaluating whether the transcript should be released and in what form. The person saying the release could happen “soon.”