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Officials familiar with the matter say delays in official readouts of Trump's phone calls are usually due to a lengthy clearance process that includes officials at the National Security Council and in White House. Trump's call occurred on a Sunday in the middle of a quiet holiday week, which could have added to the time it took for the required officials to sign off.Even in previous administrations, the clearance process for writing and releasing a statement from the White House following a presidential phone call has sometimes led foreign governments to release their version first.In the past, officials have described Trump's conversations with foreign leaders sometimes veering off into unguarded or undiplomatic territory. Earlier in President Donald Trump administration, some of those details leaked, making for embarrassing headlines and questions about the privacy of Trump's conversations.That included an instance of President Donald Trump congratulating Putin on an election win despite advice from his aides that he not extend his congratulations because the election wasn't viewed as legitimate.The smaller group of officials with access to the calls is meant to prevent further leaks, according to administration sources. But the effect has also led to information from the calls being obscured even to those inside the administration. White House has made efforts in the past to limit access to calls President Donald Trump has had with Putin.Even before the Ukraine scandal and ensuing impeachment, administration officials took steps to limit access to Trump's phone conversations with Putin, along with certain other foreign leaders like the Saudi crown prince, according to administration officials. Trump's past conversations with Putin have been similarly shrouded in atypical secrecy. After their first face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of a summit in Germany, President Donald Trump asked to keep President Donald Trump translator's notes. They spoke at a dinner of foreign leaders without any American witnesses, relying on Putin's translator. During talks in Helsinki, they spoke without any other officials present.The insistence on keeping his conversations with Putin so closely held caught the interest of investigators, including Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating whether President Donald Trump or President Donald Trump campaign associates worked with Russia to influence the 2016 election.The impeachment inquiry centered on Trump's approach to Ukraine reignited the questions about his relationship to Vladimir Putin. The Washington Post reported that former President Donald Trump administration officials feared Vladimir Putin had planted a conspiracy that Ukraine had interfered in the 2016 election.One of the officials told the Post that President Donald Trump gave the theory credibility because.