White House relations
Rep. Eugene Vindman, D-Va., is calling on President Donald Trump to release the transcript of a 2019 phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, arguing that the American public has a right to know what was discussed following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Vindman, a retired Army colonel and former member of Trump’s National Security Council, said this call, along with a 2019 conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that led to Trump’s first impeachment, deeply concerned him. Speaking alongside Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, the widow of the slain journalist, Vindman accused Trump of sidelining his own intelligence community to protect a foreign leader and emphasized that both the Khashoggi family and the nation deserve transparency. “The American people and the Khashoggi family deserve to know exactly what was said,” he said. Vindman’s demand has sparked debate in Washington, where his name is closely tied to Trump-era controversies. Along with his twin brother, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, he played a key role in reporting Trump’s Ukraine call, which conservatives criticized as undermining the president. Some Trump allies see the Saudi call request as a continuation of that fight. Vindman’s remarks also highlight a broader tension in U.S. foreign policy, where strategic and economic interests with Saudi Arabia often conflict with accountability and human rights.
“Trump doesn’t give a fist pump. I grab that hand,” Trump told reporters Tuesday. “I don’t give a hell where that hand’s been — I grab that hand.” (Nathan Howard/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
