Interpreter from Trump-Putin summit may be forced into congressional spotlight

By TARA PALMERI and BENJAMIN SIEGEL Jan 14, 2019, 4:02 AM ET

Only one American was a firsthand witness to President Donald Trump's summit last summer with Russian President Vladimir Putin: veteran State Department translator Marina Gross.

Gross' job is to blend into the background and seamlessly help two leaders communicate. But now there is mounting interest in seeing Gross step into the spotlight, as Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Committees seek an explanation for what exactly transpired behind closed doors in Helsinki.

"It may be unprecedented to subpoena a translator to reveal the details of a private meeting between the president and another world leader," wrote Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-N.J., in a letter last summer, when the idea of debriefing her was first raised. "But Trump's actions are unprecedented in a way that harms our national security."

Lawyers for the two committees are planning to meet Monday to evaluate their legal options for subpoenaing both Gross and another interpreter, who was present during a meeting in Hamburg, Germany, between Trump and Putin that occurred without aides present.

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