Trump went on a Sunday Twitter rampage after Democrats make it clear that they are determined to get his phone calls with Putin.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff set Trump off by saying, “If those conversations with Putin or with other world leaders are sequestered in that same electronic file that is meant for covert action, not meant for this, if there’s an effort to hide those and cover those up, yes we’re determined to find out.”
Trump spent Sunday evening illegally threatening the Ukraine whistleblower and tweeting:
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. Then Schiff made up what I actually said by lying to Congress……
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— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 29, 2019
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…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 29, 2019
….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.†Was this person SPYING on the U.S. President? Big Consequences!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 29, 2019
Trump is getting more terrible legal advice from Rudy Giuliani. Whistleblowing is not spying. The idea that the whistleblower complaint is only valid if it is first-hand information is also total BS.
Trump has broken a very important law by trying to retaliate against and intimidate a whistleblower. According to the DNI website, “A Federal agency cannot retaliate against an employee or applicant because that individual exercises his or her rights under any of the Federal antidiscrimination or whistleblower protection laws listed above. If you believe that you are the victim of retaliation for engaging in protected activity, you must follow, as appropriate, the procedures described in the Antidiscrimination Laws and Whistleblower Protection Laws sections or, if applicable, the administrative or negotiated grievance procedures in order to pursue any legal remedy.”
The whistleblower has followed the appropriate legal procedures. Donald Trump is trying to silence him with threats of retaliation.
All of this was unleashed on Sunday night because Democrats are determined to get Trump’s calls with Russia.
The Ukraine complaint was the first, but it far from the only call with a world leader that Trump has tried to hide.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association