On Monday, Reuters reported that the Kremlin is demanding the United States seek permission from them if officials intend to publish the transcripts of phone calls between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Of course their publication is to some extent only possible by mutual agreement of the parties. This is a certain diplomatic practice,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “Diplomatic practice in general does not envisage their publication. If there are some signals from the Americans, then we will discuss [them].”
There is no clear legal authority Russia would have under law to veto the release of any of the transcripts.
Some members of Congress are seeking to publish the transcripts of these calls as part of their impeachment investigation into Trump, which was kicked off by the revelation that an intelligence community whistleblower filed a complaint that he tried to strong-arm Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into digging up dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden.
White House officials subsequently moved that transcript, among others, onto a server intended for code-word classified information, to prevent them from being leaked — a highly unusual and improper move.
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