The relationship between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin remains in focus in the US. Now, at the request of the Democrats, the interpreter of President Donald Trump is to be summoned to the House of Representatives to provide information about the talks between Trump and Putin.
"We would prefer not to do that, we need to see what we can find out, maybe we have no choice," said Eliot Engel, the highest representative of the Democrats in the House Foreign Office, about the possible summons of the interpreter.
The background to the subpoena is whether the president was or may be a Russian agent. According to a Washington Post report ("WP"), Trump carefully kept the contents of his talks with Putin hidden even from closest collaborators: there are no detailed records of five meetings with Putin over the past two years. In one case, the US president even took away the notes from his interpreter and forbade him to pass on the contents of the conversation. The interpreter should now be interviewed about this content.
"A big fat hoax"
Previously, the "New York Times" had reported on the weekend of investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI. The question was whether Trump knowingly or unknowingly worked for Russia and against US interests. The newspaper relied on former FBI staff and people familiar with the investigation. Trump spoke of a "big fat hoax".
Meanwhile, Trump has vehemently denied ever having worked for Russia and against US interests. "Not only have I never worked for Russia," Trump said Monday in the White House. "I think it's a shame you ever ask such a question." He had dodged that question the day before.
Trump raised at the same time serious allegations against the FBI boss James Comey released in 2017. "He was a bad cop and he was a dirty policeman and he lied."
Trump had later declared to Comey's dismissal that he had the Russia investigation in mind. Comey said Trump asked for loyalty in January 2017 - which is unusual because the FBI must be independent of the White House. Because of the dismissal of Comey, the Ministry of Justice had appointed the special investigator Robert Mueller, who also examined whether in the election campaign in 2016 collusion of the Trump camp with representatives of Russia.