Trump’s one-on-one with Putin has interpreter in the hot seat
Some lawmakers demand she spill the details
WASHINGTON – U.S. lawmakers eager to learn what went on in the private meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are demanding answers from the only other American in the room: Trump’s interpreter.
But forcing an interpreter to publicly disclose the details of a confidential conversation between world leaders would be unprecedented and perilous, experts say.
“It has never happened in American history,” said Harry Obst, who was an interpreter for seven presidents. “And if it hasn’t happened in over 200 years, there must be a good reason for it.”
A growing number of Democrats are asking that interpreter Marina Gross be summoned before a congressional committee to reveal what she heard during the one-on-one meeting between the two world leaders. They also are demanding that Gross turn over any notes she took during the secret two-hour meeting July 16 in Helsinki.
“It may be unprecedented to subpoena a translator to reveal details of a private meeting between the president and another world leader, but Trump’s actions are unprecedented in a way that harms our national security,” Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-N.J., wrote Tuesday in a letter to top lawmakers on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
The public deserves to know if Trump made any concessions, revealed national security secrets or tried to profit off the presidency, Pascrell said.
“The only way to answer this question,” he said, “is by compelling the American translator to testify publicly.”
Much like a doctor or a priest, interpreters and translators are bound by a code of ethics dictating that any privileged information entrusted to them in the course of the work remain confidential, said Stephanie van Reigersberg, who was a State Department interpreter for 32 years before retiring in 2005.
“What happens in a meeting is not up to you to divulge,” she said.
Gross is an experienced, respected interpreter who works for the State Department’s Office of Language Services, which provides interpreters for the White House. She first came to the department as a contractor but eventually was placed on staff and has been an interpreter for a number of public officials.
In Helsinki, Gross was at Trump’s side during his meeting with Putin, who also had his own interpreter in the room.
Trump’s remarks at a post-summit news conference with Putin touched off a political firestorm among Democrats and Republicans who were dismayed by his friendly demeanor toward the Russian leader and his failure to publicly confront Putin about Moscow’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., called for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to convene a hearing with Gross “to determine what was specifically discussed and agreed to on the United States’ behalf.”
Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee,
“People need to be able to trust that what we hear as an interpreter is confidential. Otherwise, we lose the credibility to do our job.”
made a motion Thursday for the panel to subpoena Gross – “an extraordinary remedy,” he conceded, but one he said is necessary because of the president’s actions. Republicans on the committee blocked his motion.
Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., told reporters that he doesn’t support Democrats’ efforts to subpoena Gross but that he does back their push to see her notes. Sen. Bob Corker, Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he is trying to determine whether that would be appropriate and whether it could have other consequences.
“In the future, would any notes even be allowed to be taken if we started doing this kind of thing?” he asked.
Not only would compelling an interpreter to disclose confidential information be damaging, it could jeopardize the interpreter’s ability to do her job, said Judy Jenner, a spokeswoman for the American Translators Association.
“People need to be able to trust that what we hear as an interpreter is confidential,” Jenner said. “Otherwise, we lose the credibility to do our job.”
Judy Jenner American Translators Association