On Tuesday it was revealed that, after a public conversation that lasted more than two hours, President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin also had a second, undisclosed conversation at the G-20 summit in Germany.
While the White House confirmed the meeting, which took place as a federal investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia is ongoing, several critical questions remain unanswered.
Why was Trump trying to keep the conversation secret?
There was “no official United States government record” of Trump’s second meeting with Putin and the press was not informed it took place. The conversation was only confirmed after Ian Bremmer, a political scientist and consultant, exposed it.
Trump Administration had no intention of disclosing second hour long meeting w Putin. https://t.co/clLKa6PwQK
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) July 18, 2017
The White House denies that it attempted to “hide” the second meeting, calling the claim “false, malicious and absurd.”
Fake News story of secret dinner with Putin is "sick." All G 20 leaders, and spouses, were invited by the Chancellor of Germany. Press knew!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2017
The press did not know that Trump had a lengthy, one-on-one conversation with Putin, however.
How long did the conversation last?
Bremmer and others report that the undisclosed conversation between Trump and Putin lasted about an hour.
This is not a pull-aside. Not an informal chat: Trump-Putin meeting "nearly an hour", aide says
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) July 18, 2017
In a statement, the White House described the conversation as “a brief conversation at the end of a dinner.” A White House official, however, “would not specify the duration of the conversation.”
What did Trump want to talk to Putin about that he couldn’t say in front of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson?
President Trump had just completed more than a two-hour meeting with Putin and Sergey Lavrov, the Russian minister of foreign affairs. The only other American in that meeting, other than the translator, was Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. What did Trump want to talk about with Putin that he couldn’t have discussed in the meeting where Tillerson was present?
Why did Trump use Putin’s translator?
In the conversation, Trump and Putin relied on Putin’s translator. Ordinarily, as was the case in their public meeting, both sides have their own translator. The White House claims President Trump only brought a translator who spoke Japanese. But if Trump intended on having a lengthy conversation with Putin, couldn’t he have arranged for the U.S. translator to be available?
During the transition, Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner reportedly “discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between Trump’s transition team and the Kremlin, using Russian diplomatic facilities” with Russia’s U.S. ambassador.
What did Trump and Putin talk about?
Even with several witnesses, there was substantial controversy about what was discussed at Trump’s first meeting with Putin. Lavrov claimed that Trump accepted Putin’s claim that Russia did not interfere in the election. Trump and Tillerson did not directly confirm or rebut the Russian account.
Meanwhile, there has been no information released about the second conversation. The only American who would be able to describe the conversation is Trump and he has not proven to be a reliable source of information about his (or his campaign’s) interactions with Russian.