Politics

Trump Concealed Details of Encounters With Putin From Senior Officials: Report

HIDING SOMETHING?

U.S. officials said there is no detailed record of Trump’s face-to-face interactions with the Russian leader.

t_and_p_1_tsqd66
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

President Trump has gone to extraordinary lengths to conceal details of his conversations with Russian President Vladi­mir Putin, The Washington Post reports. The president's efforts include reportedly taking possession of the notes of his own interpreter and instructing the linguist not to discuss what had transpired with other administration officials. The unusual behavior part of a broader pattern by the president of shielding his communications with Putin from public scrutiny, and even preventing high-ranking administration officials from fully knowing what he has told Putin—one of the United States’ main adversaries. As a result, U.S. officials said there is no detailed record, even in classified files, of Trump’s face-to-face interactions with the Russian leader at five locations over the past two years. Special counsel Robert Mueller is believed to be in the final stages of an investigation that has focused largely on whether Trump or his associates conspired with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign. 

Read it at Washington Post

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.