Kremlin says Russian consent needed to release Trump-Putin phone calls

The Kremlin on Monday reportedly said that U.S. lawmakers would need Russian consent to publish transcripts of calls between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Sunday that Congress is looking to get ahold of the calls between Trump and Putin after a whistleblower alleged the White House directed officials to put a call between Trump and foreign leaders on a highly classified server. 

{mosads}In response to Schiff’s comments, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Washington would need Russia’s approval for such a move, according to Reuters.

“Of course their publication is to some extent only possible by mutual agreement of the parties. This is a certain diplomatic practice,” Peskov said. 

“To be more specific, perhaps, diplomatic practice, in general, does not envisage their publication. If there are some signals from the Americans, then we will discuss [them],” he added. 

The House launched a formal impeachment inquiry into Trump after a whistleblower complaint alleged Trump solicited possible interference from Ukraine in the 2020 election. 

The White House released a memo summarizing a portion of Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky showing Trump asked the foreign leader to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a leading 2020 candidate. 

A whistleblower alleges the White House directed officials to put a transcript of the call on a highly classified server. 

Schiff on Sunday said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Congress is “determined to find out” if calls with other leaders, “in particular with Putin,” are on the same file “meant for covert action.”