Should the “Ukraine Phone Call” Transcript Be Released?
Democrats are demanding the release of the transcript of Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. During this phone call, which was the subject of a whistleblower report, Trump allegedly used U.S. aid to Ukraine as leverage to persuade Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden’s son’s business dealings in Ukraine. Should America get to see the transcript? More at The Hill.
Now it’s up to members of Congress — not just Democrats but also Republicans who claim to believe in the rule of law — to get to the bottom of this latest tawdry tale by holding hearings, obtaining transcripts, and finding a way to gain access to the whistleblower complaint or that person’s testimony.
More troubling is that none of the whistleblower’s cheerleaders in the press and Congress seem to care about the precedent of making a President’s private calls with other world leaders open to public scrutiny… We have reached a dangerous pass if intelligence officials feel they have open season to use whistleblower laws whenever they dislike a President or one of his policies.
Though the White House will surely continue to stonewall, the three House committees that already announced an investigation of the Ukraine affair must pursue it as aggressively as possible. We’d like to hope it will be a bipartisan effort. Republicans as well as Democrats ought to be anxious to determine just what transpired between Trump and Zelensky.