RUSSIA IS HOPING PRESIDENT

TRUMP'S CONVERSATION WITH

VLADIMIR PUTIN WILL NOT BE MADE

PUBLIC AFTER THE WHITE HOUSE

DECLASSIFIED THE TRANSCRIPT

AFTER THE CALL OR PARTIALLY DID

SO OF THE CALL WITH UKRAINIAN

PRESIDENT FOLLOWING THE

WHISTLEBLOWER COMPLAINT ALLEGING

MR. TRUMP'S ABUSE OF POWER, THE

WALL STREET JOURNAL, HE HAS

HEADLINE EMBARRASSING LEAKS LED

TO CLAMP DOWN ON PRESIDENT

TRUMP'S RECORDS, DAN HOFFMAN,

FORMER CIA STATION CHIEF WHO

SERVED IN MOSCOW, IRAN AND

PAKISTAN AND NOW FOX NEWS

CONTRIBUTOR, ALWAYS GOOD TO HAVE

YOU, DAN.

>> GREAT TO BE HERE.

ARTHEL: WHY WOULD THE KREMLIN

NOT WANT CALLS BETWEEN PRESIDENT

TRUMP AND PRESIDENT PUTIN MADE

PUBLIC?

>> SO FIRST, IF THE KREMLIN

WANTED THEM TO BE MADE PUBLIC

I'M SURE THAT THEY WOULD FIND A

WAY TO DO SO WHETHER BY LEAKING

THEM OR STATING THE RECORDS OF

THE TRANSCRIPT PUBLICLY, BUT

THEY REALLY WANT TO DO INJECT

CONSPIRACY INTO OUR PUBLIC

DISCOURSE, THEY KNOW THAT IF

THEY EXPRESS AN OPINION, IF THE

KREMLIN SAY THAT IS THE CRYPTS

SHOULDN'T BE RELEASED, THAT'S

AMMUNITION FOR THE PRESIDENT'S

OPPONENTS WHO WILL ARGUE IN

FACT, THAT THEY SHOULD BE

RELEASED AND THE REPUBLICANS AND

THE PRESIDENT WILL PUSH BACK AND

RUSSIA WILL BECOME THE

HYPERPARTISAN POLITICAL DEBATE

THAT SERVES VLADIMIR PUTIN'S

INTEREST.

ARTHEL: PRESIDENT PUTIN DOESN'T

CARE ABOUT PRESIDENT TRUMP,

PUTIN'S GOAL IS WORLD DOMINANCE,

RIGHT?

>> WELL, KGB OPERATIVE VLADIMIR

PUTIN, HIS PRIMARY ENEMY IS THE

UNITED STATES, AND WHAT SCARES

HIM THE MOST IS DEMOCRACY AND HE

WANTS TO TAKE EVERY OPPORTUNITY

TO DISPARAGE OUR DEMOCRATIC

PROCESS, THAT'S REALLY WHAT THIS

IS ALL ABOUT.

>> DOES THAT BRING UP ANOTHER

CONCERN OF THE PEOPLE WHO FEEL

THAT THEY HAVE SEEN ON PHONE

CALL WITH CONVERSATION WITH

PRESIDENT ZELENSKI AND PRESIDENT

TRUMP, IS THAT THE VERY THING

THAT CRITICS ARE CONCERNED

PERHAPS SOMEBODY LIKE PRESIDENT

PUTIN CAN BLACKMAIL PRESIDENT

TRUMP KNOWING THAT PERHAPS AS

ACCORDING TO SOME, YOU KNOW,

WAIT TILL WE GET RESULTS ON

THIS, ACCORDING TO SOME THAT THE

PRESIDENT ABUSED POWER?

>> YEAH, A NUMBER OF REASONS WHY

PHONE CALLS BETWEEN THE

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

AND FOREIGN PRESIDENTS ARE

TYPICALLY SHARED WIDELY AND ONE

OF THEM IS THAT THEY TYPICALLY

DON'T DISCUSS CLASSIFIED

INFORMATION ON THE PHONE CALL,

ANOTHER IS THAT THE PRESIDENT

NEEDS HIS OWN TEAM INTELLIGENCE

COMMUNITY, DIPLOMATS, THE

MILITARY TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE

PHONE CALL AND THEN ACT ON WHAT

THE PRESIDENT IS SEEKING TO

DELIVER WITH THAT FOREIGN LEADER

AND THE THIRD REASON IS THAT

OTHERS AS WELL MAY BE LISTENING

ON THE PHONE CALL, COLLECTING

INTELLIGENCE ON WHAT TRANSPIRED,

I'M QUITE SURE FOR VLADIMIR

PUTIN IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO

TRACK EXACTLY HOW THE PRESIDENT

OF THE UNITED STATES IS

INTERACTING WITH PRESIDENT

ZELENSKI OF THE UKRAINE, THERE

WOULD BE SOME CONCERN THAT

RUSSIA WOULD HAVE KNOWN THE

DETAILS OF THAT CONVERSATION.

ARTHEL: DOES THE PRESIDENT HAVE

THE DISCRETION TO PLACE

TRANSFERS OF CALLS TO FOREIGN

LEADERS ON THE CODE WORD SUPER

SECRET SERVER?

>> I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING

CONGRESS WILL BE DIGGING INTO IN

THE NEXT COMING DAYS BECAUSE IT

WAS THE LAWYERS THAT WAS

SOMETHING THE PRESIDENT COULD

DO, I JUST KNOW FROM MY OWN

EXPERIENCE AT CIA, THERE WAS A

NEED TO KNOW AND THE DETAILS OF

THE PRESIDENT'S PHONE CALLS WITH

FOREIGN LEADERS WERE KEPT TO

MINIMUM NUMBER OF PEOPLE

REQUIRED BUT THERE WAS A GOOD

BIT OF SHARING JUST SO THAT WE

COULD ACT ON THE PRESIDENT'S

TASKING APPROPRIATELY.

ARTHEL: IS WITH SUBPOENA POWER

ON THEIR SIDE, CAN THE WHITE

HOUSE OR ADMINISTRATION REFUSE

AT THIS POINT TO SUBMIT THE

COMPLETE UNREDACTED VERSIONS OF

THAT CALL ON JULY 25TH?

>> I THINK IT'S A CHALLENGE AND

SOMEONE WHO SERVED MANY YEARS AT

THE CIA WHERE ONE OF OUR MANTRA

AND WE ARE AS TRANSPARENT AS

POSSIBLE AND WHEN YOU HAVE A

WHISTLEBLOWER COMPLAINT OUT

THERE WHICH WILL LEAD FURTHER

INVESTIGATION, IT'S AWFULLY HARD

TO KEEP DETAILS ON THAT SECRET.

ARTHEL: ANYTHING IN THE CALL

CONCERNS YOU?

>> I THINK YOUNG REIGN -- WHAT

CONSIDERATION ME THE MOST

UKRAINE IS THE LAST PLACE I

WOULD BE GOING TO FOR

INFORMATION ABOUT CORRUPTION,

JUST GIVEN THAT THE STATE OF

UKRAINE IS ONE OF THE MOST

CORRUPT PLACES ON THE PLANET AND

I WOULD BE VERY WEARY OF

TRUSTING THE VERACITY OF ANY

INFORMATION I MIGHT RECEIVE FROM

ANYONE.

ARTHEL: I'M SORRY, DAN, DO YOU

BELIEVE THAT THE NEW PRESIDENT,

PRESIDENT ZELENSKI, THAT'S WHAT

HE RAN AND WON ON THAT HE WANTS

TO GET RID OF CORRUPTION IN

THEIR SYSTEM.

>> SO HE -- PRESIDENT ZELENSKI

ON A POPULIST PLATFORM AND

MANDATE, THE PROBLEM IS THAT

HE'S GOT TO MANAGE A COUNTRY

WHICH IS OVERRUN WITH ENDEMIC

CORRUPTION AND THERE'S BEEN A

LOT OF CONCERN OF OLIGARCH IN

UKRAINE WHO OPERATES THE

TELEVISION STATION WHERE TV SIT

COME WAS RUNNING AND BY ALL

ACCOUNTS IS SEEKING TO USE THE

GOVERNMENT OF UKRAINE NOT ONLY

TO EXACT REVENGE ON ENEMIES BUT

ALSO ENRICH HIS OWN POCKETS AND

SO THE JURY IS OUT ON THE EXTENT

TO WHICH PRESIDENT ZELENSKI WILL

FULFILL CAMPAIGN PROMISE, IT'S

CERTAINLY IN THE INTEREST OF ALL

OF US THAT UKRAINE IS CORRUPTION

FREE IF THEY ARE CORRUPT THEY

ARE EASILY EXPLOITED BY RUSSIA

AND NOT LIKELY TO JOIN THE

EUROPEAN UNION OR NATO WHICH ARE

THEIR GOALS.

ARTHEL: ONLY CONCERNING WRAPPING

UP SO FAR WHAT YOU'VE SEEN ON

WHAT WAS SAID IN THE PHONE CALL,

THE SUMMARY THAT WE'VE SEEN,

YOUR ONLY CONCERN, YOU WERE MORE

CONCERNED ABOUT THE CORRUPTION

IN UKRAINE AND NOT WHAT OUR

PRESIDENT SAID TO ZELENSKI, OUR

PRESIDENT?

>> ALL OF US ARE CONCERNED ABOUT

THE WHOLE STORY AND I THINK

IT'LL BE UP TO THE CONGRESS TO

-- TO COMPLETE THE FACT-FINDING

AND FRANKLY THERE'S A LOT OF

FACTS OUT THERE THAT WE DON'T

REALLY KNOW QUITE YET SO I THINK

IT'S A GOOD THING FOR ALL OF US

TO RESERVE OUR JUDGMENT, FINAL

JUDGMENT ON -- ON HOW WE VIEW