Unleashing unconcealed fury about Democrats and the press, US President Donald Trump has railed against the investigation into his dealings with Ukraine.
His outburst came hours after Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives warned the White House to expect a subpoena for documents.
Democrats accused the administration of “flagrant disregard” of previous requests and said that refusal could be considered an impeachable offence.
Separately, the Democrats accused Trump of “an incitement to violence” against a national security whistleblower and advised him and his administration not to intimidate potential witnesses in the impeachment inquiry.
The whistleblower exposed a July phone call that Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in which Trump pressed for an investigation of Democratic political rival Joe Biden and his family.
Democrats say the pressure on Zelenskiy, on its own, constitutes an abuse of power worthy of impeachment scrutiny.
In appearances in the Oval Office and a joint press conference with the president of Finland on Wednesday, Trump displayed an unusual show of anger as he defended what he has called his “perfect” phone call with Zelenskiy.
He suggested, without evidence, that House intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff may have committed treason, and, again without evidence, labelled Biden and his son “stone cold crooked”.
“Schiff, House Intel Chairman, Got Early Account of Whistle-Blower’s Accusations”
SCHIFF IS A FRAUD! https://t.co/BNXiq5dsXg pic.twitter.com/PHdh8PBTGb
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2019
At one point, Trump demanded that a reporter pressing him on his dealings with Ukraine move on.
“Ask the president of Finland a question, please,” he said, emphasising each word, eventually labelling the reporter “corrupt”.
Trump declined to answer yes or no when asked if he would co-operate with the House to produce requested documents on Ukraine.
“Well, I always co-operate,” he said, though his administration has repeatedly stonewalled congressional investigations.
“This is a hoax,” he added.
Schiff, accusing Trump of inviting violence against the whistleblower, had said earlier that any effort to interfere with the Democrats’ investigations would be considered evidence of obstruction and could be included in articles of impeachment.
“We’re not fooling around here,” he said.
Trump showed no signs of letting up, tweeting a vulgarity during the House leaders’ news conference and saying “the Do Nothing Democrats should be focused on building up our Country”.
Throwing criticism broadly, he assailed Schiff as a “low-life” and said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco has turned into a “tent city” of homeless.
Trump has tweeted in recent days that he wants to “find out about” the whistleblower and question him or her, though the person’s identity is protected by the Whistleblower Protection Act.
The Democrats said they would subpoena the White House on Friday for documents related to Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.
House Oversight and Reform chairman Elijah Cummings wrote in a memo to committee members that the action is necessary because the White House has ignored multiple requests.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged on Wednesday he was on the phone call between Trump and Zelenskiy that is at the centre of the impeachment inquiry.
He also continued to push back against what he said was Democrats’ “bullying and intimidation”.
-AAP
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