White House aides have reportedly long been tasked with keeping Trump call details under wraps


White House staffers didn't just recently start keeping details about President Trump's calls with foreign leaders under wraps, several people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post on Thursday.
Earlier in his presidency, Trump was "enraged" when transcripts of calls he had with foreign leaders leaked, so changes were made, the Post says. The White House removed several people from the list of government officials with permission to review memos about calls, and cut the number of aides able to listen in on conversations. Officials who delivered call memos had to sign for them, the thinking being if they leaked, it would be easier to find the source. Former senior administration officials also told the Post that last year, Trump aides were so paranoid that Defense Department employees might share call transcripts, they told them they had to return the documents.
The whistleblower complaint about Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky alleges that at the order of lawyers in the White House counsel's office, the transcript of their conversation was "loaded into a separate electronic system that is otherwise used to store and handle classified information of an especially sensitive level." One White House official told the whistleblower this was "an abuse of this electronic system because the call did not contain anything remotely sensitive from a national security perspective." During the call, Trump asked Zelensky to work with Attorney General William Barr and lawyer Rudy Giuliani to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. Read more about the efforts to keep phone call details secret at The Washington Post.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?
today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
5 high-concept animated science fiction shows for grown-ups
The Week Recommends How filmmakers are using a different medium to bring visionary science fiction to life
-
How far does religious freedom go in prison? The Supreme Court will decide.
The Explainer The plaintiff was allegedly forced to cut his hair, which he kept long for religious reasons
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Bibi's back: what will Netanyahu do next?
Today's Big Question Riding high after a series of military victories, Israel's PM could push for peace in Gaza – or secure his own position with snap election
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
The ambiguous legal state of ectopic pregnancy care
The Explainer Rep. Kat Cammack's accusations of 'fearmongering' are the latest example of how mixed messages are complicating the debate around abortion
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from
-
ICE: Targeting essential workers
Feature After a brief pause, the Trump administration resumes its mass deportation plan