President Donald Trump announced his plan Tuesday to release the transcript of his call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and critics immediately began to move the goalposts.
Democratic California Rep. Adam Schiff called on Trump to release the transcript during a Sunday appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Jake Tapper, and Tuesday the president promised a “complete, fully declassified and unredacted transcript” of the call. (RELATED: Adam Schiff Calls On Trump To Release Transcript Of His Phone Call With Ukraine)
I am currently at the United Nations representing our Country, but have authorized the release tomorrow of the complete, fully declassified and unredacted transcript of my phone conversation with President Zelensky of Ukraine….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019
….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 noted that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had gotten permission from Zelensky — who had already stated publicly that he felt no pressure from Trump during the call — before promising to release it.
Secretary of State Pompeo recieved permission from Ukraine Government to release the transcript of the telephone call I had with their President. They don’t know either what the big deal is. A total Witch Hunt Scam by the Democrats!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019
Almost immediately, journalists, politicians and Trump critics began to suggest that the transcript alone either couldn’t be trusted or wasn’t going to be enough.
We need to see the whistleblower complaint, not just a transcript of the President’s choosing. Do not fall for this trap.
— Jennifer Granholm (@JenGranholm) September 24, 2019
Given what we know about how Trump pressures and manipulates civil servants to tow his line, I’m not *quite* sure we can trust the transcript itself as being accurate/comprehensive.
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) September 24, 2019
We don’t need to see your sharpie transcript, dude. Release the complaint. Release your taxes. Release everything you’ve covered up for the past 2.5 torturous years. Then… #resign https://t.co/nMnXmnk17X
— Tricia O’Kelley (@TriciaOKelley) September 24, 2019
Full transcript ≠ full whistleblower complaint. https://t.co/jeCr506tAW
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) September 24, 2019
The whistleblower report is said to involve a number of things; this phone call is one but not all. https://t.co/5jeRJScYWB
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) September 24, 2019
I don’t even accept official student transcripts unless they are properly authenticated and sent directly from the issuing institution in a sealed envelope or encrypted email. Just saying. https://t.co/s69nlN2cYo
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) September 25, 2019
There is a big difference between a word for word transcript of a conversation and notes of a conversation taken down by someone who works for one of the participants. FYI.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) September 25, 2019
The transcript of the call is likely to be a dud. Extortionists don’t say out loud, “I am extorting you.” The whistleblower’s complaint was based on a series of events. We need context to make sense of the phone call, including Giuliani’s meetings. https://t.co/8sxiWGDsIn
— Barb McQuade (@BarbMcQuade) September 25, 2019
Sen. Chuck Schumer: “Simply to release the transcript is not going to come close to ending the need of the American public and the Congress to see what actually happened.” pic.twitter.com/dRvLSt1XW0
— The Hill (@thehill) September 25, 2019
Show me a reporter who takes a transcript from sharpie guy at face value and I’ll show you a shitty reporter.
— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) September 24, 2019
Reminder: Coming from this White House, neither transcripts nor weather maps can be trusted
— Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) September 24, 2019
The White House added the whistle-blower’s complaint for good measure, promising to release that later in the week as well.
New: Trump WH says they are folding on hiding the whistleblower complaint — now to be released “Thursday” — and notes of the Ukraine call.
It’s almost as if Congressional pressure works, when it’s applied.
— Ari Melber (@AriMelber) September 25, 2019
But there was one plot twist that came late Tuesday — “Fox News @ Night” producer Sean Langille tweeted that there might be evidence that the whistleblower had been politically motivated. “Senior admin official tells @edhenry that tomorrow in addition to the transcript of call, the admin will release a document showing the Inspector General of the Intel community found the whistleblower involved had ‘political bias’ in favor of ‘a rival candidate’ of Trump,” he tweeted.
Senior admin official tells @edhenry that tomorrow in addition to the transcript of call, the admin will release a document showing the Inspector General of the Intel community found the whistleblower involved had “political bias” in favor of “a rival candidate” of Trump
— Sean Langille (@SeanLangille) September 25, 2019