Democrats allege Trump abused his power to solicit interference from a foreign government in the 2020 election
Former DOJ prosecutor James Trusty weighs in on a whistleblower complaint that President Trump encouraged the Ukrainian president to investigate Joe Biden's son's business dealings.
President Trump on Sunday said he wants to meet the whistleblower who filed a complaint about his July phone call with the Ukrainian president and to have House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., questioned for “fraud and treason.”
“Like every American, I deserve to meet my accuser, especially when this accuser, the so-called ‘Whistleblower,’ represented a perfect conversation with a foreign leader in a totally inaccurate and fraudulent way,” Trump tweeted. “Then Schiff made up what I actually said by lying to Congress.”
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He continued: “His lies were made in perhaps the most blatant and sinister manner ever seen in the great Chamber. He wrote down and read terrible things, then said it was from the mouth of the President of the United States. I want Schiff questioned at the highest level for Fraud & Treason.”
Trump last week released a transcript of the call with President Volodymyr Zelensky which, along with the complaint, detailed how he urged his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. The incident has set off a formal impeachment inquiry.
But Schiff opened Thursday’s hearing on Capitol Hill with acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire with an exaggerated reading of the phone call, which he later walked back as a “parody.”
Trump on Friday blasted Schiff for the fictional summary and demanded his immediate resignation.
In the series of tweets on Sunday, Trump not only doubled down on meeting his accusers, both the whistleblower and the person who supplied the information, but also questioned whether he was being spied on.
“In addition, I want to meet not only my accuser, who presented SECOND & THIRD HAND INFORMATION, but also the person who illegally gave this information, which was largely incorrect, to the ‘Whistleblower,’” Trump tweeted. “Was this person SPYING on the U.S. President? Big Consequences!”
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However, Schiff appeared on ABC News’ “This Week” earlier Sunday saying that precautions have been taken to protect the whistleblower’s identity amid the criticism from Trump and his allies.
"We are taking all the precautions we can to protect the whistleblower's identity," Schiff added. "With President Trump's threats, you can imagine the security concerns here."
Fox News' Adam Shaw and Andrew O'Reilly contributed to this report.
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