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Editor's Note: Samantha Vinograd is a national security analyst at CNN. She is a senior advisor to the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware, not affiliated with the Joe Biden campaign. Vinograd worked on the National Security Council of President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013 and in the Treasury Department during the government of President George W. Bush. Follow her on @sam_vinograd. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.
(CNN) - The House of Representatives voted to formalize the political trial process on Thursday, and has a bulky list of witnesses to testify this week. However, the president of the Chamber's Intelligence Commission, Adam Schiff, said he will publish transcripts of witness statements made behind closed doors, which means that the country and the rest of the world will be able to see closely how it works. Our government inside.
This happens after President Donald Trump and his followers ridiculed Democrats in the House for not doing their research work publicly. But perhaps they should take care of their desires. Although this novel transparency is an important part of the political trial process, it is not cost-free. In fact, it carries additional security risks, given that our enemies will probably follow the events with the hope of reaping some other knowledge about the possible weaknesses of the White House.
- Giuliani and military assistance in the center of the Ukrainian plot, according to two new testimonies in political trial investigation
In public light
Our enemies already know a lot about the informant's complaint, the written statements and the leaks that arose from the testimonies behind closed doors. Confidential details were revealed about how the US government works, including who works in data reading, who listens to secret presidential phone calls, how secret servers are used to store and transmit information, and how unstructured it is. American bureaucracy returned with this president.
Let's add to the mix public hearings and the publication of transcripts of testimonies, the additional risks are considerable. Think of it this way: it is not that we have Kremlin officials testifying about how the communications of the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, work, or to which advisers or individuals on his staff orders them to implement their dirty work.
The new information that will be disclosed to the public during the course of the political trial proceedings will be the main talk that will be manipulated by the foreign powers. The US intelligence community determined that Russia intends to use the information war to undermine the credibility of our agencies, possibly the presidency among others. Detailed reports that could reveal how the president, or perhaps his team, misused his office will add fuel to the fire that Russia, and possibly other rivals, intends to stoke through armies of bots, trolls and false identities. Trump continues to deny doing something illegal.
Legal actions
While transcripts of past testimonies could come to light this week and public hearings could begin next week, this week's testimonies will remain behind closed doors. And the testimony schedule is packed with White House officials and staff from the Office of Budget Administration who could have first-hand experiences to share about the president's intentions and motivations regarding Ukraine.
State Department officials are also cited (both career officer and undersecretary David Hale and lawyer and appointed politician T. Ulrich Brechbuhl). But it is not clear who will really come.
Energy Secretary Rick Perry has already said he will avoid his call to testify and former national security vice minister Charles Kupperman responded to the citation of the House Intelligence Commission with a lawsuit against the House and its president, for the courts to decide How to proceed His former head, John Bolton, is called to testify on Thursday and although his statement could significantly expand the scope of the investigation, his lawyer said he will not appear to testify voluntarily. It is not clear if it will be presented even if it was cited.
Some of the most valuable statements could be those of the National Security Council lawyer, John Eisenberg, whose testimony is scheduled for Monday. Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman, who testified last week, said he had heard the ignominious phone call between Trump and Zelensky on July 25, and had shared his grievances with Eisenberg, who told him not to talk about the call, a source familiar with his testimony told CNN. So, Eisenberg and other lawyers of the National Security Council decided that the wording of the call should be transferred to a server with a password.
National Security Council attorneys respond to White House attorneys and usually receive orders from the national security adviser. While John Bolton, the national security adviser at the time of the call, is no longer in the White House, White House lawyer Paul Cipollone is still there. Cipollone is leading the Trump team that deals with the political trial investigation and is the author of the letter to the House of Representatives leadership that said the president would not abide by the investigation.
While the lawyers of the National Security Council could try to point out that they found nothing wrong in what he said in the call or in asking the US ambassador. in the European Union, Gordon Sondland, who told Ukrainians to investigate Biden and his son, will probably be pressured on which of the White House lawyers knew about his intentions and if they shared his concern or spoke directly with the president.
- This is Trump's new plan before the political trial process against him
Dilations in public
While it is important to find out if Trump abused his position and withheld aid for Ukraine in exchange for foreign collaboration in the elections, the political trial proceedings constitute a huge waste of resources for government employees who have to concentrate on responding to the Research instead of doing your daily work. This offers our rivals an opportunity to attack while the political trial is hot and trying to impose their own plans.
And the perception that the national security team is distracted has been reinforced recently. The testimony of Tim Morrison, a former senior advisor to the National Security Council, indicated that instead of doing his job he spent his time verifying data on Sondland's claims about the president's wishes and then resigned. Vindman said he was excluded from major work on Ukraine and other countries in his portfolio since the inquiry into the political trial began.
Many other officials working on issues related to Ukraine have had to testify or have to spend time with lawyers looking for ways to avoid filing or submitting documents.
When it comes to a country like Ukraine this could have serious negative consequences. Russia and Ukraine are still locked in an armed conflict, not to mention the controversial energy negotiations. Our special representative for the negotiations with Ukraine, Ambassador Kurt Volker, resigned as soon as he began the process of political trial. And, as for Ukrainians, they probably take it for granted that any work they do with US officials could end up being part of a declaration or public hearing in the future.
In short, while the US national security team It has to deal with the consequences of Trump's actions, other countries can continue to work as if nothing had happened.
Our distraction is the opportunity for our enemies.
(Translation of Mariana Campos)
Donald Trump political trial