President Trump said Thursday he may end the practice of having national security and foreign service staff listen in on his calls with foreign leaders after a July call with the president of Ukraine triggered his impeachment in the House.
Trump complained extensively about Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a key witness in the House impeachment inquiry, during a radio interview with Geraldo Rivera, accusing him of being "insubordinate" by raising concerns about the president's conduct on the July 25 call.
"Why are so many people allowed to listen to your phone calls anyway?" Rivera asked.
"Well, that’s what they’ve done over the years," Trump said. "When you call a foreign leader, people listen. I may end the practice entirely. I may end it entirely."
President Trump on Friday asserted he has "the legal right" to insert himself into the Justice Department's handling of criminal cases one day after Attorney General William Barr said the president's tweets were making his job more difficult.
Trump cited Barr's comments from an ABC News interview in which the attorney general said Trump had not asked him to take certain action in a criminal case.
"This doesn’t mean that I do not have, as President, the legal right to do so, I do, but I have so far chosen not to!" Trump tweeted.
