Top Dem: Congress May Have No Choice But To Subpoena Trump Interpreter

Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) the new chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Monday that the committee may have no choice but to subpoena an interpreters notes from a private meeting in 2017 between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Engel said during an interview on CNNs At This Hour that he would prefer not to have to look at what an interpreter wrote. But we may have no choice. Well have to see down the road what happens he added. Engels comments come after The Washington Post reported on Saturday that President Trump has worked to hide the details of his private conversations with Putin including by taking notes from an interpreter following a 2017 meeting with the Russian leader. Former White House officials under former President Obama and former President George W. Bush have warned against issuing a subpoena for the interpreters notes arguing that it could set a dangerous precedent. The Post story was published one day after The New York Times reported that the FBI in 2017 opened a counterintelligence investigation into whether Trump was working on behalf of Russia. Engel said in a statement Saturday that the House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold hearings on Trumps relationship with Putin. We will be holding hearings on the mysteries swirling around Trumps bizarre relationship with Putin and his cronies and how those dark dealings affect our national security" Engel said.