We are not called translators, those do the written word, we are called interpreters. Trump’s interpreter in Helsinki was Marina Gross, she was the only other American in the room. No security, it seems. Congress deliberated whether to subpoena her to force her to testify about the content of the conversation between Trump and Putin. I am not sure what to think of that: interpreters, like doctors and lawyers (or even priests, if you believe in that kind of thing) need to have the full confidence of their clients or they cannot work correctly. A medical doctor cannot make the right diagnosis if the patient is not frank with the symptoms, a lawyer will not be able to defend his client if the client does not trust him enough to tell things as they happened, and interpreter will not be able to convey the message one political leaders wants to convey if the leader does not state his message for fear of leaks. It is fundamental for the profession and for the future of diplomacy that what interpreters hear and say remains secret. In the end Ms. Gross was not forcet to testify, which would have put her in a very awkward position.
On the other hand, if Trump commited treason in her judgement (but who is she to tell without a trial? And how can you have a trial about whether her testimony is necessary and can be forced without her testifying about her testimony?), she, having sworn the constitution, should be able to talk about it. Right? I wish it was, and I wish (a little bit) she had done, but it seems that the answer is no.
So historians will have to rely on the Kremlin’s archives, should they exist and be opened to the scholars some day. And then they will have to figure out whether what those archives show is the truth, Putin’s version of it (i.e.: a complete manipulative fabrication) or something else.