Published 11:36 IST, September 30th 2019
Donald Trump says he wants to meet whistleblower in Ukraine scandal
Trump wants to meet whistleblower who led to call for impeachment, he said in a tweet on Monday. The US President also wanted Congressional inquiry on Schiff.
US President Donald Trump said on Septemeber 30 that he wishes to meet the whistleblower whose report led to the call for his impeachment. On the other hand, Democrat Adam Schiff said that the whistleblower will be produced shortly. The anonymous whistleblower's claims have become the center of the scandal threatening his presidency. In a series of tweets of Sunday evening, the US President blasted Democratic lawmakers and the media as he railed against the impeachment inquiry launched last week. Since the accusations came to light, Trump had been completely dismissing it and calling it a fraud. As per the whistleblower, Trump abused his Presidential power and threatened Ukranian President Vlodomyr Zelensky which he or she mentioned in an audio transcript of Trump's call.
The whistleblower's claims
Trump reportedly wanted Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden, a potential Democratic candidate in the 2020 US election, as per the complaint. The transcript also inferred that Trump had tried to get a foreign power to interfere in a US election for his own gain by enlisting his attorney general and personal lawyer to help. A probe was launched into the incident and the Congress oversaw it. Democrat Adam Schiff read out the aggressive portions of the transcript at the Congress directly hitting out Trump. The Congress then called for Trump's impeachment which is still under review.
Trump wants Congressional inquiry on Schiff
Trump called the whistleblower a spy. Reports suggest that he might be a CIA agent. Moreover, during the first congressional hearing, Adam Schiff who chaired the review raised excerpts against Trump, the US President also hit out on him. Trump claims that Schiff lied to Congress last week about what Trump said to the president of Ukraine and should be punished. The President demanded a Congressional inquiry on Schiff. The things that were written and read out were terrible he added.
Whistleblower's complaint found credible, democrats issue subpoenas
In recent developments, the intelligence community's inspector general has found the whistleblower's complaint "credible" despite finding indications of the person's support for a different political candidate. By following proper procedures and filing a complaint with the government rather than disclosing the information to the media, the person is without question regarded as a whistleblower entitled to protections against being fired or criminally prosecuted, legal experts said. On September 28, house Democrats took their first concrete step in the impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump, issuing subpoenas demanding documents from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and scheduling legal depositions for other State Department officials.
(With inputs from PTI)
Updated 13:33 IST, September 30th 2019