Trump allies sow chaos as probe gathers pace
Dems prepare for whistleblower testimony as Republicans push conspiracy theories
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said yesterday that he expects the whistleblower at the heart of impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump to testify “very soon”.
“All that needs to be done, at this point, is to make sure that the attorneys that represent the whistleblower get the clearances that they need to be able to accompany the whistleblower to testimony,” said Schiff, “and that we figure out the logistics to make sure that we protect the identity of the whistleblower.”
As Democrats and the director of national intelligence worked out key arrangements, Trump’s allies erupted in a surge of second-guessing and conspiracy theorising across the talk shows, suggesting the White House strategy is unclear against the stiffest challenge to his presidency.
One former adviser urged Trump to confront the crisis at hand and get past his fury over the probe of Russian election interference.
“I honestly believe this president has not gotten his pound of flesh yet from past grievances on the 2016 investigation,” said Tom Bossert, Trump’s former homeland security adviser. “If he continues to focus on that white whale,” Bossert added, “it’s going to bring him down.”
The Ukraine investigation produced what the Russian probe did not — formal House impeachment proceedings based on the president’s own words and actions.
The White House last week released a rough transcript of Trump’s July 25 call with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, as well as the whistleblower’s complaint alleging the US president pressured his counterpart to investigate the family of Joe Biden, the former vice president who is seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Trump’s reelection next year.
Trump has sought to implicate Biden and his son Hunter Biden in the kind of corruption that has long plagued Ukraine. There has been no evidence of wrongdoing by either of the Bidens.
Democrats are planning a rapid start to their push for impeachment, with hearings and depositions starting this week. Many Democrats are pushing for a vote on articles of impeachment before the end of the year, mindful of the looming 2020 elections.
Schiff has said the whistleblower has agreed to testify. His committee has been negotiating to interview the person, who reported to the inspector general for the intelligence community that Trump had urged Zelenskiy to investigate Biden.
The whistleblower also said that White House officials then moved to “lock down” the details by putting all the records of it on a separate computer system.
Trump’s allies fanned out across the talk shows with myriad responses.
Stephen Miller, the president’s senior policy adviser, called the whole inquiry a “partisan hit job” orchestrated by “a deep state operative” who is also “a saboteur”.
“The president of the United States is the whistleblower,” Miller said.
Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, promoted a debunked conspiracy theory, insisting that Ukraine had spread disinformation during the 2016 election.
On ABC’s This Week, Giuliani also claimed that Trump “was framed by the Democrats”.
He at one point said he would not co-operate with Schiff, but then acknowledged he would do what Trump tells him.
The White House did not provide an official response on whether the president would allow Giuliani to cooperate.
“If they’re going to obstruct,” Schiff warned, “then they’re going to increase the likelihood that Congress may feel it necessary to move forward with an article on obstruction.”