President Donald Trump claimed Wednesday afternoon that the White House last month released an “exact transcript” of his July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, raising more questions about the still-unfolding scandal.
When the White House released on September 25 a readout of the conversation, it called the document a “memo,” and many observers said it likely did not capture the full conversation. The whistleblower has also asserted that, in a break from the norm, the official transcript was put in a classified system.
Trump, speaking to press alongside Finnish President Sauli Niinistö Wednesday, said the transcription was done “by very, very talented people, word for word, comma for comma.”
Journalist Natasha Bertrand, on Twitter, said that if it was in fact a “transcript” the White House released, it is “unclear why the White House wouldn’t characterize it as such.”
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