Trump says he'll release transcript of a second call with Ukrainian president Tuesday
President Donald Trump on Saturday said he plans to release a transcript of a second phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, one that occurred months before the July call that kickstarted House Democrats' impeachment inquiry.
"They want to have a transcript of the other call, the second call, and I'm willing to provide that. We'll probably give it on Tuesday, Monday being a holiday," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews before boarding Air Force One to attend a college football game in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
"We have another transcript coming out that is very important. They ask for it, and I gladly give it," Trump continued.
That call occurred on April 12, shortly after Zelensky won the Ukrainian presidency and was congratulatory in nature, according to Kurt Volker, the former special envoy for Ukraine negotiations whose private depositions were released Tuesday.
Little else is known about the first call as an official White House readout was not released. Trump has said he dislikes releasing transcripts of calls with foreign leaders because "it’s such a bad precedent.”
The president’s July call with Zelensky led to the whistleblower complaint that prompted Democratic lawmakers to launch their impeachment probe.
Trump also said Saturday he doesn't care whether next week's impeachment proceedings are public or private, seemingly contradicting his statement on Friday that there should be no public hearings.
"I don’t care if public — they should be public. What I said it was misreported as usual. What I said is very simple. There should not be anything. There should not be impeachment hearings," Trump said.
