Senate Democrats Want to Interview Trump's Interpreter at Putin's Summit

The Senate Democrats, who think they will have no idea what really happened at the private meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, now turn to the American interpreter – a meeting for more information.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who sits on the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, is leading the charge among her Senate colleagues to call Marina Gross, the American interpreter who sat in the private meeting with Putin, to speak to the committee.

"If the President does not want to share this information with us, then the interpreter is the only person we can watch," New Hampshire Democrat told ABC News in an interview Wednesday.

Grigory Dukor / Reuters

She asked several officials of the state department what that the two leaders had agreed to do in Syria. he is allied with the Assad regime. She said that they did not know, a troubling notion that she said stressed the need to speak to the interpreter not only for the edification of the Congress but for that of the 39, whole of the administration.

Democrats' questions were raised when the Russian Defense Ministry issued a statement on Tuesday referring to the "agreements" reached at the summit, although it is unclear whether it merely summarizes what leaders discussed.

"The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is ready for the practical implementation of agreements between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in the field of international security reached at the summit of the Russian Federation. The Russian military department is ready to intensify its contacts with US counterparts of the General Staff and other means of communication to discuss the extension of the START treaty, the 39, interaction in Syria and other topical issues concerning military security.

Shaheen adds that she has not yet spoken to committee chairman, Bob Corker, about the possibility of issuing a subpoena, but that such action, if necessary, would consistent with the role of the country's foreign policy monitoring committee.

Corker said Wednesday that he understands why Democrats would make such a request and seems open to that.

"We all want to know what happened at this meeting," Corker told reporters.

"It's something that has been suggested, but again, is it really appropriate? We have to ask," Corker said. "One of the lowest levels we've seen in our foreign policy is what we saw a few days ago in Helsinki, and I think that all of us still wonder incredibly what's going on past."

But he cautioned, "I do not want us to lower ourselves … if it's appropriate, we'll pursue it, if it's something that should really be the privilege of Executive, we will not do it.

On the notes in particular, Corker said: "These are notes taken by the translator at the meeting, I'm not sure it's even appropriate, we check that, if that's the case we are pursuing that. "

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Shaheen told ABC News that if the administration is to exercise executive privilege, "we must find another way to get the information."

At a press briefing this afternoon, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert could not say whether the White House could claim that conversations and notes of the Helsinki Summit fell under the executive power.

"That's the question I asked, is there a precedent for that?" Nauert told reporters Wednesday. "We have not yet been able to find it, I can tell you that there is no formal request for the interpreter to appear before a congressional committee at this point in time. General, you know we are always looking to work with Congress. "

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has traveled with the president to Helsinki, is expected to be in a hurry to take his notes by the Democrats when he appears before the committee. foreign relations in public hearing next Wednesday.

But Democrats can be in a tough battle over their quest for Gross information itself.

"I think Hill leaders and their best employees should know that trying to get the information from the interpreter would be a wild geese hunt," said Harry Obst, who was the director of the Office of Language Services of the State. for 14 years and translated for presidents Lyndon B. Johnson to Bill Clinton.

State Department interpreters, like Gross, are officials who take an oath to reveal no classified information, according to Obst. In addition, interpreters of a US president have very secret authorizations, and so they are required by law not to reveal secret or secret information.

According to Obst, the interpreter writes a memoir of the conversation after each meeting, which is considered the property of the president, or of anyone who participated in the classified meeting. The memorandum could not be made public or shared with legislators without the permission of the owner, who in this case would be Trump. It goes through the same declassification process after 17 years as other classified information.

To the knowledge of Obst, no State Department interpreter has ever testified on the Hill about the content of the meetings.

And if an interpreter is to be summoned, Obst says that he believes that the interpreter could and should, in his opinion, confirm their oath not to reveal information.

And some Republicans do not hold to the idea either.

"I think it would be a terrible precedent, to attract translators to the meetings that the presidents have," said Senator Ted Cruz to reporters. "I was not a fan of President Obama and his policies, and I certainly did not ask that the translators who were in private meeting with President Obama be expelled to Congress, I think that 39 there must be some capacity for the executive power "

"What you see is that a lot of Democrats play politics," Cruz said.

ABC News & # 39; Sarah Kolinovsky and Ali Rogin contributed to this report.