President Donald Trump poses for photos as he meets with Paraguay’s President Mario Abdo Benitez at the White House, Friday, Dec. 13, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 4:18 PM PT — Friday, December 13, 2019
The White House has announced fewer Trump administration officials will be allowed to listen in on the president’s phone calls with foreign leaders. Friday reports said only the most senior officials will have access to his calls and transcripts moving forward.
President Trump’s July 25th phone call with the Ukrainian president became the catalyst for the Democrat-led impeachment efforts. Regardless, the president has always maintained there was nothing wrong with the call.
“Impeachment for that? When you have a wonderful meeting or a wonderful phone conversation? It was beautiful, it was a perfect conversation.” — Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States
The call to the Ukrainian President was PERFECT. Read the Transcript! There was NOTHING said that was in any way wrong. Republicans, don’t be led into the fools trap of saying it was not perfect, but is not impeachable. No, it is much stronger than that. NOTHING WAS DONE WRONG!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2019
FILE – In this Sept. 25, 2019, file photo, a White House-released memorandum of President Donald Trump’s July 25, 2019, telephone conversation with Ukraine’s newly elected president Volodymyr Zelenskiy is photographed in Washington. (AP Photo/Wayne Partlow, File)
One White House official called the restriction the “Vindman rule,” in reference to the Ukraine expert who reported the call to National Security Council lawyers. Another official added “the barn door officially closed after the horse escaped.”
This came after the Trump administration released about 150 heavily redacted pages related to the decision to withhold aid to Ukraine. Thursday’s release came as part of a Freedom of Information Act request by the nonprofit organization Public Integrity.
Last month, a federal judge ordered the administration to produce records containing conversations between the Defense Department and the Office of Management and Budget. The administration produced 146 pages of redacted emails and spreadsheets, which Public Integrity claimed reveals little of the actual conversations.
As the House Judiciary Committee was voting on articles of impeachment against Donald Trump, @publicintegrity received documents related to Trump’s decision to withhold military aid from Ukraine. Every substantive exchange between officials was blacked out. #UkraineDocs pic.twitter.com/PUkwl9WKYs
— The Center for Public Integrity (@publicintegrity) December 13, 2019
The organization said it’s planning to file a motion challenging the response.
“We are deeply disappointed that the public won’t have access to this important information at the heart of the impeachment process, but we will continue to fight to ensure that the documents see the light of day,” said CEO Susan Richardson.
So, no – this isn’t the end. We’re getting a second batch of documents on December 20th. As journalists, we demand the information that the public needs. We’re ready to take on another legal battle. https://t.co/xtNZciNQhX pic.twitter.com/wM5Xsg5KiZ
— The Center for Public Integrity (@publicintegrity) December 13, 2019
