Trump demands to meet accuser
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has demanded to identify and meet the anonymous whistleblower who has triggered an impeachment probe against him.
The whistleblower, who could testify soon before Congress, fears for their safety if their identity is revealed, according to a lawyer’s letter released by CBS News.
Mr Trump, in a series of tweets, railed against accusations that he should be impeached for urging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden, his potential 2020 White House challenger.
“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,” he said.
Mr Trump (pictured) accused top Democratic politician Adam Schiff of lying to Congress about what he had said to Mr Zelensky in the July phone call.
“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,” the President wrote.
Trump’s Republican aides insisted the President was the true “whistleblower” for asking Ukraine to investigate Mr Biden and his son.
“This individual is a saboteur trying to undermine a democratically elected government,” Trump adviser Stephen Miller said on Fox News.
“Getting to the bottom of a corruption scandal in Ukraine is in the American national interest.”
Mr Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani — who has emerged as his point man in the Ukraine scandal — led the charge in combative Sunday talk show appearances.
Brandishing what he said were affidavits incriminating Mr Biden’s son Hunter over his work at a Ukrainian company, Mr Giuliani said Mr Trump was duty-bound to raise the issue with Kiev.
“If he hadn’t asked them to investigate Biden, he would have violated the constitution,” Mr Giuliani said, claiming Mr Trump “was framed by the Democrats”.
The Democratic-led House of Representatives launched an official impeachment inquiry last week, accusing Mr Trump of a “mafia-like shakedown”. Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on Mr Trump to “speak the truth” and “honour your oath of office”.