Democratic Rep. Joe Kennedy III called on the White House Wednesday to publicly recount what occurred in the private meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
If the White House does not come forward, Congress should bring the president’s translator to testify, under subpoena if necessary, the Massachusetts congressman suggested during an interview on CNN’s “New Day.”
Mr. Kennedy acknowledged that the proposal is complicated by potential legal issues around privilege, but he said “it shouldn’t get that far.”
Without the testimony of officials or the translator, Mr. Kennedy argued, the U.S. will have to depend on the Russian readout of the private meeting.
“This is a horrible thing to say: The President of the United States has no credibility when it comes to this issue,” he said, “This is a serious national security issue, and all that I’m asking for is that we understand what the president agreed to.”
Mr. Kennedy refused to call Mr. Trump’s comments treasonous, saying he preferred to leave that to constitutional scholars.
The congressman said his Republican counterparts “wring their hands” over Mr. Trump’s comments in Helsinki, but they aren’t working to take action on the issue.
Mr. Kennedy suggested that they are more focused on impeaching Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein than “oversight of Trump and Russia.”
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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