Trump-Putin meeting: Democrats look to subpoena interpreter after reports US president seized notes of conversation

'Not only did I never work for Russia, I think it's a disgrace that you even asked that question'

Democrats are looking to subpoena the interpreter present at the meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, after it was reported the US president took their notes and told them not reveal the contents of the conversation.

Mr Trump was obliged to tell the media “he never worked” for Russia, following separate reports over the weekend – one saying the FBI had opened a probe into whether the US was a Russian asset after he fired James Comey, and a second saying he went to “extraordinary lengths” to conceal the details of his conversation with the Russian leader. In the second report, The Washington Post, said such was Mr Trump’s determination to limit who knew what he said to the Russian leader, he took the notes of his own interpreter and told the linguist “not to discuss what had transpired with other administration officials”.

Over the weekend, he dismissed the report as “ridiculous”, telling Fox News. “I had a conversation like every president does. You sit with the president of various countries…We were talking about Israel and securing Israel and lots of other things … I’m not keeping anything under wraps, I couldn’t care less. I mean, it’s so ridiculous.”

He added: “Anybody could have listened to that meeting, that meeting is up for grabs.”

On Monday, amid reports the White House was concerned the president had not been sufficiently forceful in his denial of being a Russian agent – one of the many bizarre moments that historians of this presidency will likely study – Mr Trump doubled down in front of the cameras as he left Washington to fly to Louisiana and address farmers.

“Not only did I never work for Russia, I think it’s a disgrace that you even asked that question because it’s a whole big fat hoax,” he said.

But Democrats, newly empowered with their control of the House of the Representatives, and smelling blood over Russia, seized on the issue, saying two congressional committees were considering issuing a subpoena to Mr Trump’s interpreter, Marina Gross, a state department employee, to testify about what was discussed with Mr Putin.

Democratic congressman Eliot Engel told CNN: “I would prefer not to do that. We have to see what we can find out. We may have no choice.”

He said he would rather that Ms Gross, said to have been the only other person in the room when Mr Trump spoke to Mr Putin in Helsinki in the summer of 2018. He also had a private conversation with the Russian leader on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Hamburg in July 2017.

“It’s been several months since Helsinki and we still don’t know what went on in that meeting,” Mr Engel told the Post. “It’s appalling. It just makes you want to scratch your head.”

Mr Engel said the House foreign affairs committee, that he now chairs, was working with the intelligence committee to discuss a possible subpoena of the interpreter.

Republicans and White House officials have defended Mr Trump’s actions, saying he had been the victim of a number of leaks.

US intelligence agencies have concluded Moscow led a propaganda and hacking campaign designed to tip the 2016 White House race to Trump. Russia has denied interfering.