Biden now has access to all previously hidden Trump-Putin call memos

• As president, Biden now has access to all the notes of Trump’s calls with Putin.
• A former Trump official told Politico that Biden “owns” the notes.
• The White House Biden has not said whether it has yet reviewed those memos.
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During Donald Trump’s four years as President, he was extremely cautious about his phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which numbered at least a dozen. According to several reports, he kept notes of these calls in a top-secret computer system and delayed communication of the conversations to the American public.

But he will no longer be able to hide what has been said now that President Joe Biden is in the White House.

Politico reported on Tuesday that once a new president is sworn in, he has access to the full memoranda of conversation – or “memcons” – written during past presidencies, which are detailed notes taken during calls with world leaders. .

Former Trump White House official told Politico that Biden’s national security team “won’t need our approval to see them [records]. “

Pete Marovich-Pool / Getty Images

“Biden has all the documents for the appeal. There is only one president at a time,” the former Trump official said.

A former Trump White House official told Politico the records were not cleared before Trump left office, but transferred – as is customary – to the National Archives and Records Administration.

Read more: Democrats’ plans to ensure there is no Trump 2.0

White House Biden did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment. He also did not comment to Politico whether he had seen the content of Trump’s calls with Putin.

But a former national security official, described as being close to Biden, told Politico: “It is a national security priority to find out what Trump said to Putin.”

“Some things, like what happened in some face-to-face meetings where no American translator or note taker was present, may never be fully known. But I would be very surprised if the new team security officer was not trying to access it. ” them, the source told Politico.

But a former Trump White House official disagreed with that logic, telling Politico: “There are certain things that a president and his immediate staff should be able to have the privilege of doing the work of government. , without being subjected to constant partisan play. “

Atypical for an American president, Trump had a very warm relationship with Putin, often praising the Russian president’s leadership style.

The Trump-Putin relationship has helped to question whether Russia’s interference in the 2016 election could have included collusion between Russia and the Trump team.

A special advocate investigation into the case, led by Robert Mueller, acted like a specter for much of Trump’s time in office, but Mueller ultimately said there was not enough evidence to accuse anyone in the Trump campaign of illegally conspiring or coordinating with the Russian government. .

Meanwhile, Biden’s first call with Putin marked a change of tone from the White House. During the call, Biden lobbied Putin over Russian election interference, the SolarWinds hack, and the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.